Dear, Dear Diary
by Machiko-Chan
Summary: Sakura is shocked when a certain someone reappears in her life, and she is swept up in a whirlwind of confusion and emotion... and joy. SakuSyao
1. The Start of it All

Dear, Dear Diary….

Description: Everyday, she poured out her feelings in her diary, her only sanctuary from the world around her… When someone is invited over for dinner and reads it, how will her world be changed?

Disclaimer: I sadly own none of the characters. If I did, it would not be as good… (tear)

------------------------------------------Chapter 1----------------------------------------------

"Sakura… Sakura are you up there? …I made oyako donburi for dinner…" Fujitaka Kunimoto yelled up the cream-colored staircase, only to be responded by a loud…

"SUGOI!" yelled an excited Sakura. "SOU DESU KA? I'm coming otou-san! I'm co– (slip) HOLY CRAP!"

THUNK, WHAP, BAM, WHUNK, WHUNK, WHUNK. SCREEEEEE…tunk.

"Owww… WHY ARE THE STAIRS WET?…TOUYA!"

Just then, he who was just cursed plodded down the stairs, hair soaking wet, assumingly from a shower…

"Geez, kaiju… You'd think after 16 years you'd have learned how to walk straight… Hey, hey wait! DON'T YOU DARE KICK ME– OW! SHI–"

"TOUYA NOBUO KINOMOTO! WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE!" Fujitaka yelled. (I made up the middle name. It's my daddy's…) If it wasn't boys hitting on his daughter he hated most, it was most definitely swearing.

"Sigh… all right guys, everyone in the kitchen for dinner…OH! WAIT! I forgot to tell you guys that…"

"WHO THE HELL IS THIS?" two voices yelled in unison.

And then Touya mentally swore… 'IT'S THE FRIKKEN BRAT!'

An extremely attractive young man with deep-chocolate brown hair, and hypnotizing amber eyes sat at the usually empty head of the table, eyes wide open from the sudden entry and welcoming of the two siblings. He looked at Touya slowly, and turned his head the girl standing beside him.

And his breath caught as he looked her in the eyes. Bright emerald.

'Good god, she's gorgeous' he thought, and immediately stood up and walked over to her.

And all through this, Sakura stood there, glued to the kitchen tiles, and lost in eyes of melted gold.

'Oh dear God. W-who is this? There's only one person that could do this to me…' she thought, hoping he wouldn't come any closer, or her legs would fail her.

Oh, but he did… Close enough to touch…

"Hi… Sakura…" he said.

Sakura suddenly went rigid as he took her hand and kissed it.

"No… you can't be… he left… he… left… years ago. I-it's not possible…" Her eyes widened in recognition.

"Li…" and she went limp and fainted.

"SAKURA!" Li grabbed her before she hit the floor, and cradled her gently, one hand behind her head and neck, the other around her slim waist, before lightly kissing her temple.

How had he lived without her for 4 years? 'Her honey hair is considerably longer now,' he thought. 'At least 6 inches… down to her waist… God, she's perfect…' Long slim legs, lightly tanned skin… and he looked back at her face… long eyelashes.

And… Li let out a chuckle. 'That perfect little nose.' He wanted to kiss it…

"Li…" Fujitaka interrupted. "Sakura needs to rest a bit now, don't you think? I'll take her up to her–"

"NO! I mean… no. I-I'll do it… I don't think I can let go of her right now… I'll take her up, sir." Li said.

"Hmph. You better not try anything with my sister, brat…" Touya threatened.

Li shot Touya a look that could pierce steel. "How dare you… get over yourself" he said as he hugged Sakura closer to him, and caught a whiff of her shampoo.

'Cherry shampoo still, eh? Ha…'

And he climbed up the stairs to her room.


	2. The Book

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the CCS characters… I just happen to be using them.

(_Recap)_

_"Li…" Fujitaka interrupted. "Sakura needs to rest a bit now, don't you think? I'll take her up to her–"_

"_NO! I mean… no. I-I'll do it… I don't think I can let go of her right now… I'll take her up, sir." Li said._

"_Hmph. You better not try anything with my sister, brat…" Touya threatened._

_Li shot Touya a look that could pierce steel. "How dare you… get over yourself" he said as he hugged Sakura closer to him, and caught a whiff of her shampoo._

'_Cherry shampoo still, eh? Ha…'_

_And he climbed up the stairs to her room._

--------------------------------Chapter 2------------------------------------

As Li walked into her cherry blossom pink room, he smiled, remembering everything had it's proper place.

'Desk on the left… Bed on the right…' he placed Sakura down gently, and began to wander again.

'Shoes should be…' He kicked under her bed.

'Yup, still there… Her secret candy stash should be in the closet under her false panel… Wow, she has a lot of Ramune candies…(lemon-lime fizzies)' he thought, as he popped one in his mouth.

He stood up slowly, letting the feeling of being so near to her sink in. He looked to her desk, and there she saw a small, glittery pink book with a heart shaped clasp.

'So very Sakura… She still has the diary I gave her…' he chuckled.

As he thought that over, a wave of jealousy came over him: WHAT IF SHE'S BEEN SEEING OTHER GUYS? His face turned bright red as he grabbed the book, and opened it to the first page:

'Crap. This is her diary… I shouldn't read this… but…"

_April 2nd, 2000_

_Guess what? Syaoran got me a birthday present!_

_You!_

_He couldn't give it to me yesterday, he said his sensei had him doing chores all day…_

_Syaoran is so funny! He keeps on calling me "'Kura" now. I can't understand it. I keep yelling at him and saying I hate it when he calls me that, but of course I don't… actually, I think I rather like it. It makes me feel...special to him._

'If only you knew how special to me you were, and still are…' he thought, as he read on, now curious.

_Tomoyo said that he likes someone. I'm so curious! I wanna know who it is! That girl is so lucky to have Syaoran like her… He's so cool, smart, and he's athletic too. Hmm… I'm gonna have to do some digging to figure out who it is, ne?_

'Sakura, you dork… You're so dense sometimes…' Li thought, laughing slightly.

_She must be gorgeous if Syaoran likes her!_

'You have no idea…' he thought, as he turned to the next page. The next page had a hilarious doodle of Syaoran holding a carrot, with rabbit teeth and ears, and dinner-plate sized eyes.

Syaoran almost started crying, he was trying to hold in the laughs so hard. He had to turn the page, and fast.

_May 4th, 2000_

_I still haven't figured out who Syaoran likes! It's making me crazy! I thought about going right up to him and asking, but I think that would have made him freak out or something. Don't wanna embarrass him! Can't have that happening, now can we, diary? Well, Tomoyo gave me another clue. She said she has light brown hair… Like that's a whole lot of good. Even I have light brown hair, sheesh._

At this, Li let out a rather loud laugh, and then turning bright red, he looked back at Sakura. She didn't even move.

'Phew… BACK TO READING!'

_I wish she would give me some really useful information. _

After this line, Li noticed a line was erased. The only words he could make out were:

_That a, I ou kep nkng e les e._

'GAH! What'd it say, dangit?… Urgh… Oh well'

He turned the page again.

_September 24th, 2000_

_Sorry I haven't written in so long! School has gotten crazy, what with the piles of homework and the athletic clubs starting to pick up again. Tomoyo said that Syaoran liked a girl in our grade. Well, there are about 90 girls in our grade that have light brown hair… I'll eliminate the girls that have never met him before… That still leaves about 60… Hoe… Wow… I never noticed that before… Syaoran is pretty popular, huh?_

'She was thinking pretty hard about this… I would think that–'

AGH! All this thinking! Atama ga itai desu! I gotta go to sleep… Oyasuminasai!

'Thought so!' He stifled another laugh. The next few pages were doodles, with a few drawings of erased hearts with names in them…

He swore he saw…

Li Syaoran + Sakura Kinomoto 

'No, no, there's no way!' he thought, quickly turning the page.

_December 25th, 2000_

_Syaoran got me the nicest gift… a beautiful key-shaped pendant… It's bright silver, and has two emeralds and a pink diamond on it. I hope he didn't spend too much money on it… I love it. I'm going to put it on my necklace next to Mom's charm._

_I'll never take it off._

At this, Li choked and blushed.

'She liked it that much? Wow…'

Slowly, taking the book with him, he got up and walked over to Sakura, and moved her hair from her neck.

It was there, dangling on the white shirt she was wearing, right next to her mother's angel wing charm.

He couldn't help but feel so much closer to her.

He knelt down, and kissed her on the cheek, before carefully replacing the diary on the desk.

He was about to walk out of her room, when he suddenly turned back and opened the diary to the date he left Tomoeda. He noticed immediately that there were water marks on the paper…

'Tears…? She… cried for me?'

_July 22nd, 2002_

_He… he's leaving!_

_Li's leaving!_

_Oh god, he's leaving me… I didn't even know… I mean, it's so sudden… I thought he would be staying in Tomoeda. He seems fine by himself, so why would he need to go back to Hong Kong! I must sound so selfish… Li's family must miss him. They haven't seen him in so long… I… I didn't even get to tell him. Tell him what? Well, you know… _

The next sentence would hang in Li's mind forever.

_That I love him._

He gasped and gaped at the book in front of him before dropping it to the floor.

'She… she… loved me? …Does she still love me?'

He looked to the beautiful girl on her bed and smiled.

'I have no doubt.'

And he walked out the door.

OwArI

Well, everyone?

Is it okay? This is my first fanfic, after all…

Well… review to give me ideas and criticism, please!

Arigatoo minna-san!


	3. Back Again

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the CCS characters… I just happen to be using them.

Thanks for the reviews guys! It means a lot to me since I'm just starting out!

(_Recap)_

'_She… she… loved me? …Does she still love me?'_

_He looked to the beautiful girl on her bed and smiled._

'_I have no doubt.'_

And he walked out the door 

---------------------------------Chapter 3-----------------------------------

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU TAKE SO DAMN LONG TO GET OUT OF MY SISTER'S ROOM!" Ooh, Touya was pissed…

"If you just have to know… then that's just too DAMN bad for you!" Li shouted back, the happy smile never leaving his face.

"AND WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SO SMILEY! WHAT THE FU-"

"TOUYA! WE JUST HAD THIS DISUSSION 15 MINUTES AGO! YOU'RE GROUNDED!" yelled Fujitaka, his vein popping.

Li stuck out his tongue.

"NAH!"

"Why you little–OW! DAD! What was that for!"

"For disrespecting our guest. He will be staying with us for a few weeks, so-"

"Excuse me, what?"

"He's going to be staying with us for a few weeks. Is that okay with you?" Fujitaka gave the famous 'I don't care if you say no!' look to his son.

"Why don't you help carry Li's things into the spare room, Touya?"

"…I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Nope!" Fujitaka smiled.

"Gimme your crap, brat. I'm gonna go throw it ou- …put it in your room."

"Why thank you so much, TOUYA-KUN!" Li mocked.

"Call me that one more time and I'll make you infertile." Touya said, quite convincingly. (If guys bother anyone, honestly, this is in the list of top ten things to say to them)

"Hahaha! You're so funny Touya-kun!"

"BRAT!"

"Yes, dearie?"

"GRAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Just then, a shadow appeared over the stairs, and a soft voice rang through the room.

"…Li… is that really you?"

Li looked up, only to see his princess, still in her clothes from earlier, slowly walking down the stairs, her eyes wide open in disbelief, and her honey-colored hair ruffled and messy.

'GOD, she's gorgeous... even when she's like this... I don't know if I can stop myself from holding her...'

Both Fujitaka and Touya took this time to leave, Fujitaka to the kitchen, Touya to grumble as he put 'the brat's' items in his room.

"Sa-Sakura, you should be resting." Li was straining. Anyone with half a brain could tell. And it didn't go unnoticed by Sakura. "I don't want you to get-"

Li was promptly cut off when Sakura hugged him. A firm, yet soft hug that seemed to take all of the breath from his lungs.

"Call me 'Kura again. Please. Just call me 'Kura." she said, her voice wavering.

'Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Thank you...' he thought, as he slowly and shakily wrapped his arms around her, loving the feel of her in his arms.

"O-of course. 'Kura, are you okay?"

By now, Sakura was on the point of tears. Happy tears of course, people!

"I-I'm fine… I just can't believe you're really here… back in Tomoeda again. ...Why did you go to Hong Kong?"

'And leave me alone...' she thought.

"Well…" Li started. "Yelan-"

"Who's Yelan?"

"My mother…"

"Oh."

"Yeah… she wanted me to go back and take care of some… things…"

"Like what?"

"Uh… errr… stuff…" Li was visibly nervous, shuffling his feet around on the red and gold carpet of the living room.

'No duh, Li, stuff!' Sakura thought, getting slightly annoyed. "What STUFF, Li?"

"I-I'll tell you some other time." Li stammered.

Sakura was curious now.

'WHAT ISN'T HE TELLING ME DAMMIT?'

"Sakura, I'll tell you. I promise. Just… not right now, okay?" Li pleaded with her, clearly desperate to keep his composure in front of Touya and her dad.

Sakura looked at him, her annoyance with him fading fast...

'Oh god, what does he expect me to do when he looks at me with... those... eyes...'

"I'm sorry... it's just that... you left me for so long... I missed you, you know..."

They stood there for a few minutes, simply staring at each other, each putting their souls and feelings out for the other to see. Too bad they're both as blind as frikken door-posts...

Touya's sudden entrance into the room and ranting took them out of their happy place long enough to realize their proximity to each other.

"Hey, brat, kaiju. Get into the kitchen and... WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!"

They were still hugging.

"HOEEEEE! Sumimasen, Li-kun! I-I didn't mean to hold on to you like that for so long..." Sakura was blushing madly.

'Yeah right, of course you meant to, you moron.' she thought.

"N-no, it's perfectly fine! I made no move to let go either!" Syaoran also resembled a tomato.

'I didn't mind that at all...'

One thought went rushing through both of their minds as they walked to the kitchen:

'DAMN YOU TOUYA! DAMN YOU, DAMN YOU, DAMN YOU!'

-------------------------------------OwArI-----------------------------------

Aww... a floofy moment...

Interesting...Li-kun is staying at the Kinomoto's for the time being...

Sakura: HEY! I thought only I could call him that!

Me: HA! I am the all-powerful author! SO THERE! –insert evil laugh here-

Sakura: (growllllllllll)

Me:... Ehehehehehe... YEEP!

Next chapter, I will be introducing Tomoyo-chan to the mix, and maybe, not for sure, maybe Eriol-kun.

Please review and make suggestions! They really do help!

That button there on the bottom!


	4. GAH! COASTERS!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. I just don't, ALRIGHT? Jeez…

_(Recap)_

_Touya's sudden entrance into the room and ranting took them out of their happy place long enough to realize their proximity to each other._

"_Hey, brat, kaiju. Get into the kitchen and... WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!"_

_They were still hugging._

"_HOEEEEE! Sumimasen, Li-kun! I-I didn't mean to hold on to you like that for so long..." Sakura was blushing madly._

'_Yeah right, of course you meant to, you moron.' she thought._

"_N-no, it's perfectly fine! I made no move to let go either!" Syaoran also resembled a tomato._

'_I didn't mind that at all...'_

_One thought went rushing through both of their minds as they walked to the kitchen:_

'_DAMN YOU TOUYA! DAMN YOU, DAMN YOU, DAMN YOU!'_

---------------------------------Chapter 4-----------------------------------

As they ate dinner, they reminisced about old times. Touya throwing Li over the fence after he tried to talk to Sakura, Touya getting stepped on "accidentally" by Li as he was sleeping on the living room carpet…

Ah, good times, good times.

As they finished their oyako donburi, Li finally got up the courage to ask Sakura something…

"Hey… Sakura, what-"

Sakura stopped him.

"I told you to call me 'Kura, remember?"

Li smirked.

"I thought you hated it when I called you that…"

Sakura blushed.

"W-well… I-I've come to like it. Is that so bad!" she retorted, quickly becoming aware of the fact that he was toying with her.

But she realized just as quickly that she didn't mind. His happiness showed through his amber eyes, making them shine and swirl with emotion.

'Goddamn. Those must be illegal… They could be-'

Sakura was snapped from her thoughts by Li reaching forward and tapping her hand. This simple gesture made her blush and gasp, making the entire table look at her with curiosity.

"Um… I'm sorry… I was just caught off guard, is all."

Li smiled again, seeing that she still had some egg on her cheek. He reached forward and wiped it off with his napkin.

"Still a bit messy, aren't we, eh, 'Kura?"

Li didn't think it was possible, but Sakura blushed even harder, looking as if she would blow at any second.

During all of this, Fujitaka was simply smiling, watching his daughter the happiest, and also the most embarrassed she's been in a long time.

Meanwhile Touya was trying to keep himself from throwing up. This display was sickening him. Even though he lost his powers when he gave them to Yukito, he still had this feeling like something was wrong whenever the brat was around, and felt that he had to protect Sakura from him.

Sakura took in a deep breath and started to turn back to a normal peachy skin tone when Li continued with his question.

"So... 'Kura... want to go do something with me tomorrow?" Li asked, his voice almost wavering, and lightly blushing.

Sakura looked at him, puzzled. And then, dawning...

'...OH! Oh god! He's asking me out!... Or is he just wanting to hang out... OH WAIT! DAMMIT'

"Oh... Sorry, Li... I'm going to hang out with Tomoyo... we made date a few weeks ago..." she said, the sadness showing in her voice.

Li was in a state of shock.

'No... Sh-she said no...' he slumped back in his chair.

Touya on the other hand, was beaming.

'HA! FRIKKEN BRAT! YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE WITH MY SISTER!'

"Well, Sakura, why don't you just take Li with you? I'm sure Tomoyo wouldn't mind..." Fujitaka interjected.

Sakura and Li immediately brightened, while poor Touya practically choked on his last spoonful of chicken.

"DAD? WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?"

"Well, Sakura is a big girl Touya. We should let her decide for herself, ne?"

Sakura jumped up and hugged her dad.

"Arigatoo otou-san for the great idea!" She turned to face Li, still smiling. "Li-kun... do you want to come tomorrow?" she asked shyly.

"Of course I want to come!" he shot up out of his chair.

"Good, then it's settled. I'll drop you both off tomorrow at 1:00, okay?" Fujitaka said.

"Sounds great!" they both said in unison.

Poor Touya was still sitting there, hashi in hand, and chicken in mouth, going over the information in his head.

'They're... they're... going on a d-d-date...'

-------------------------------the next day...-------------------------------

When Sakura and Li were dropped off, Li didn't think they were going so far... apparently, the "date" Tomoyo and Sakura made was for Tokyo Disneyland.

When they finally reached Tokyo Disney, Tomoyo was standing outside with a very familiar bespectacled azure-haired boy...

"WHY THE HELL IS HIIRAGAZAWA HERE?" Li shouted.

"OHMYGOSH I'M SO SORRY LI-KUN! I forgot to tell you! Eriol-kun and Tomoyo-chan are... dating..." Sakura said.

"...Ha ha... You're funny, 'Kura. No really, why is he here?" Li said, completely serious.

"Um... I'm dead serious, Li... they're dating."

"... What the hell is the world coming to... next monkeys are gonna spout out of my butt…"

Fujitaka was trying valiantly to stifle his laughs, until Li's final comment, when he started convulsing with laughter, letting go of the wheel, and making the car go "SCCREEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"OTOU-SAN! HANDS ON THE WHEEL! OH DEAR GOD!" She screamed as they narrowly missed a parked car, and parked jerkily, barely staying upright.

Sakura and Li, now thoroughly aware of their surroundings, shakily exited the car, and onto the curb, where Tomoyo and Eriol were waiting.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Tomoyo screamed as she 'glomped' her friend.

"THE DAY'S FINALLY ARRIVED! WE'RE-… OH MY GOD! LI-KUN!"

Tomoyo's eyes grew to the size of bowling balls.

Eriol was quite surprised as well, as he was already being strangled by Li.

"GCKGH! …Ni..nice…t…to…see…y-you…t-too…Li…" Eriol managed to say, still managing to smile, which only served to piss Li off even more.

Sakura finally noticed this, and pulled Li off of Eriol. Tomoyo immediately whipped out her video camera and started taping.

"Li-kun! When did you get back? …Or should I say, what (who) has brought you here?" Tomoyo said, smiling.

Of course, Sakura missed the "(who)" part, but no one else did, including Fujitaka, as he observed Li turn a bright shade of red.

"Well, guys, have a good time. I believe I gave you enough money, Sakura, right?" he said.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Mr. Kinomoto. My mom got us all passes! I even have an extra for Li-kun!" Tomoyo answered, still bubbly over the fact that Li was back (obviously for Sakura's sake) and was taping the whole thing.

"Wow, thanks Tomoyo-chan!" said Sakura, hugging Tomoyo tightly. "Well, I guess we should get going, ne?"

"Uh… yeah…" said Li. "Don't wanna miss the rides, right?"

"Yeah, and why don't we start off by going to… Tomorrowland? That way we can ride Space Mountain!" said Eriol.

Li visibly blanched.

Unknown to the rest of the crew, Li was… um… just a bit… _uncomfortable_ with roller coasters and the like.

As the group started off, Sakura noticed that Li was not quite… Li. He was even quieter than he usually was, and he looked kinda… pale… and he was walking kinda weird… like he had something stuck up there or something… So, she leaned over and...

"Li-kun, are you okay?"

Li jumped, startled.

"Ad… um… y-yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I'm just great!" he said smiling. He really wanted to have a good time with her, so SCREW FEAR!

"Let's go to Space Mountain, guys!" Li said.

Sakura relaxed a little at hearing this, and smiled back, letting Li be comforted at this, and they headed off to Space Mountain.

"Well," said Tomoyo to her video camera. "This looks to be quite an interesting day, ne?"

-------------------------------------oWaRi-----------------------------------

By the way, I forgot to add the following in the beginning, so GOMENNASAI!

Oyako Donburi- A delicious mix of scrambled egg, onion, and chicken in a light shoyu (soy sauce) over steamed gohan (rice). It's my favorite…

Sugoi- WOW!

Sou desu ka?- Reallly?

Kaiju- monster

Atama ga itai desu- (my) head hurts/I have a headache

Oyasuminasai- Good night

Owari- the end

I know, might seem like a strange place to leave off, but hey, writing the entire day right now would be pushing it, I think.

Review, and give me suggestions. Maybe I'll spin them into the plot at some time…

Arigatoo!

Machiko


	5. Facing Fears

Disclaimer: I don't own them… I just don't. Deal.

_(Recap)_

"_Uh… yeah…" said Li. "Don't wanna miss the rides, right?"_

"_Yeah, and why don't we start off by going to… Tomorrowland? That way we can ride Space Mountain!" said Eriol._

_Li visibly blanched._

_Unknown to the rest of the crew, Li was… um… just a bit… uncomfortable with roller coasters and the like._

_As the group started off, Sakura noticed that Li was not quite… Li. He was even quieter than he usually was, and he looked kinda… pale… and he was walking kinda weird… like he had something stuck up there or something… So, she leaned over and..._

"_Li-kun, are you okay?"_

_Li jumped, startled._

"_Ad… um… y-yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I'm just great!" he said smiling. He really wanted to have a good time with her, so SCREW FEAR!_

"_Let's go to Space Mountain, guys!" Li said._

_Sakura relaxed a little at hearing this, and smiled back, letting Li be comforted at this, and they headed off to Space Mountain._

"_Well," said Tomoyo to her video camera. "This looks to be quite an interesting day, ne?"_

--------------------------------Chapter 5------------------------------------

As the gang started walking to Tomorrowland, they encountered many different amusements, such as turkey legs the size of Li's head (which he used to hit Eriol), large rainbow suckers, which Li bought for Sakura (and once again used to hit Eriol over the head), and many characters, like Mickey and Minnie Mouse, which Sakura insisted she get a picture of Li with.

"Bu-but Sakura! Don't you think we're a little… you know… old for this kind of thing?" said Li softly.

Sakura looked at him like he was the biggest moron on the face of the earth.

"OF COURSE NOT! It's MICKEY and MINNIE MOUSE! How can you not want a picture with them…" Sakura said with a hint of sadness.

Li felt horrible.

"I didn't say I wouldn't take the picture… I will. But there's one condition. You have to take it with me!"

Sakura smiled, then handed the camera off to Pluto, who happened to be standing by, and stood next to Li.

Li grabbed Sakura and hugged her around her waist, tickling her and catching her totally off-guard, causing an ear-to-ear blushing smile.

"CLICK!"

Minnie turned to them and said:

"You two are the cutest couple I've seen in here by far. Those two behind you are running a close second! Oh… you might want to tell them to stop… they'll scare the children." and she walked off with Mickey.

Li and Sakura turned around, and saw Tomoyo and Eriol sitting on a bench, having quite a make-out session.

"HEY!" yelled Li. "You two are REALLY not helping with the scenery! You're scaring off all of the little kids!"

The two flushed teens looked around, and sure enough, young children were scurrying by, bright red with their parents covering their eyes.

"Well, they're going to learn someday… Looks like you and Sakura have, too." said Eriol, chuckling.

At this, the two looked down at their hands.

Li and Sakura were now both beet red, and realized they were holding hands.

"HOEEEE! I'm so sorry, Li-kun! I didn't mean to-"

He squeezed her hand tighter.

"Don't be sorry… please don't be sorry for that." he said, his warm eyes smiling at her.

She was in awe.

"L-Li? C-can I ask you something?"

He looked at her in amusement.

"Of course. What is it?"

She cleared her throat.

"Do you, by any chance li-"

"LOVERS! HURRY UP! SPACE MOUNTAIN IS RIGHT OVER THERE!" yelled Tomoyo, about 150 feet away.

"DAMMIT, DAIDOUJI, WE'RE COMING!" yelled Li. "What were you saying, 'Kura?"

She blushed.

"No-nothing. I'll ask you later. Come on, let's go! The ride won't wait forever, you know!" she said smiling, still holding onto Li's hand and running toward the other two.

Li was in heaven. She was still holding his hand. Her hand was so smooth and soft, and warm, but not hot. He loved it.

And then the last sentence got in.

'The ride won't wait forever, you know!'

He tripped and fell, bringing Sakura with him as she fell on top of him.

"GAH!"

"YEEP!"

FWUMP!

"LI-KUN!" Sakura screamed, her eyes wide with fear that he might be hurt, as she scrambled to get off of him. "ARE YOU OKAY? OH MY GOSH, I HURT YOU! I'M SO SORRY!"

Li stood up quickly and grabbed her.

"No, 'Kura, I'm not hurt. I only got a little scratch on my knee, see?" and he held it up.

Sure enough, it was just a small scrape.

"This was not your fault. Even I have my clumsy moments, you know." he said smiling.

Sakura felt the world fall out from under her.

'Oh god… stop smiling like that… I can't think straight you're if smiling that like… AHHHH!'

"Oh, right!" Sakura snapped out of it just before Li was about to ask what's wrong. She dug in her white purse and found a band-aid, just large enough to cover the scrape, and a small packet of Neosporin, and covered the scrape quickly, before grabbing his hand again and walking slowly to the ride, smiling all the way.

"What the heck happened over there, Li-kun?" asked Tomoyo through her video camera. Unbeknownst to the two of them, Tomoyo had taped the whole thing…

"Um… I tripped…" said Li sheepishly.

"On what? There's nothing to trip on? …Oh, you were thinking of Sakura-chan, ne?" said Tomoyo, smiling.

"WHAT?" said Sakura. "Of course he wasn't thinking about me! You're so ridiculous, Tomoyo-chan!" she said blushing madly, waving her arms around.

Li couldn't help himself. She looked too damn cute, flailing around in her black jeans and pink top, making the shirt flap up and down with it. Her face was bright red, and her eyes…

Her eyes were beautiful. Bright, shining emeralds.

It's funny, Li never found himself so enamored with someone. Sure, he'd dated other girls, and most of them were gorgeous. But Sakura was different. She had a personality that made Li act differently than he normally would. She brought out the best in him, and he loved her.

"All right, all right! Let's get going! We don't want to have to wait forever in line!" shouted Eriol, getting slightly antsy at having to wait for this.

Snap.

Tomoyo clapped the video camera shut, and walked very calmly over to her boyfriend. Too calmly.

'OH. SHIT.' he cursed mentally.

Tomoyo, still smiling, grabbed him by the ear and took off towards the area near the bathroom, and ranted.

"HOW DARE YOU TELL ME TO HURRY UP WHEN I'M TAPING OUR BELOVED SAKURA-CHAN! LI-KUN JUST CAME BACK, AND YOU DON'T EXPECT ME TO JUST SIT BY AND LET THIS OPPORTUNITY JUST PASS BY, DO YOU! I SWEAR, YOU MUST HAVE A SCREW LOOSE OR SOMETHING!" she screamed.

Eriol just stood there, his eyes the size of dinner plates, holding onto the lounge umbrella stationed there to keep from being blown away.

"I'M SORRY, TOMOYO-CHAN! I WAS JUST SO EXCITED TO RIDE SPACE MOUNTAIN!" he cried.

Meanwhile, Li thought this was a good time to do some explaining to Sakura.

"Hey… 'Kura… um…"

"Hm? Hai? What is it?"

"The reason I tripped… it… it's because um…"

Sakura was trying to remain patient, but she couldn't really handle this. She was never one who was able to sit still for long periods of time, so this was starting to get to her.

"It's because I'm afraid of roller coasters."

Sakura was stunned. The great Syaoran Li, fighter and helper in capturing the cards, was afraid of… roller coasters?

She laughed.

"Are you serious, Li-kun?"

"…yes…"

"It's okay. I'll help you get through this, I promise!" she said, smiling happily at him.

Li's fears were almost completely blown away with that single smile.

"All right. I'll try it then… but… will you sit next to me?" he smiled.

Sakura blushed again.

"O-o-of course!" she stammered, completely ecstatic.

'Thank you god!' they both thought in unison, as Tomoyo and an exhausted Eriol made their way back.

As they all made their way to the front of the line, Sakura was holding onto Li's hand, and losing circulation because of it.

"Urgh… Li-kun… loosen up… my hand is turning purple!" she squeaked.

Li looked down, and indeed, her hand was turning a hue of lavender.

"GAH! Sorry, sorry!" he said quickly, loosening his hold.

Sakura beamed.

"LOOK! It's our turn, guys!" she squealed.

Li blanched.

'Here we go…' he thought as he got into the seat with Sakura.

Even better. The front one. He groaned.

And then, his hand was squeezed. He turned and looked to Sakura, who was smiling.

"It's okay, Li, it'll be fine, I promise." she said.

Li smiled back, and relaxed a little.

"So… why are you so afraid of coasters anyway?" she asked.

"Um… well… my sisters Fuutie, Shiefa, Fanren, and Feimei… they used to force me to go on these things when I was little, and they kinda forgot to strap me in really well… I ended up digging my fingers into the bars so hard that I started bleeding… I've never liked them since."

Sakura was stunned, and she started to cry. 'Li has FOUR sisters? Holy CRAP! That was so mean of them… I can't believe they hurt my Li-kun… I just called him 'my' Li-kun…'

"I'm so sorry, Li-kun… W-we shouldn't have come here, I'm so sel-"

She was cut off by a kiss. A short, but sweet one. And damn straight, Tomoyo got it on video camera, smirking at the reaction the video would get from Touya when he saw it.

"Sakura… Nothing is ever your fault. You are not selfish. You're anything but that. I'm just glad that I can go on this with you and not be as afraid. I want to do this. I do." Li said, staring at her.

"And, um… that kiss… you can forget it if you want… I'd underst-"

"Shut up, Li."

"WHAT?"

"I said, shut up!" she said, and kissed him full on the lips, just as the ride started.

Li was surprised. He'd never in his wildest dreams imagined Sakura would be so forward.

He turned to her and smiled, just before the darkness consumed them.

"Um… S-s-sakura? What's going o-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! HOOOOOOOOOLLLYYYYYYY CRAAAAAAAAAAAAP!"

He was clinging to Sakura, but strangely, he wasn't afraid. In fact, he found he rather enjoyed this feeling of falling. It felt like flying. And having Sakura near him only made it better.

He slowly let go of Sakura, and put his hands up, enjoying the feel of the crisp air rushing against him.

Sakura was laughing and giggling like crazy, a sound that was near irresistible to Li.

"Haaaahhhaaaaahhaaaaaahaaaahh! Isn't this fun, LI!" she shouted.

"HA! Yeah, yeah it is!" he agreed.

In fact, Li was having so much fun, that he was quite disappointed that the ride ended. He got off, a pout across his face.

"Hey, what are you pouting about Li?" said Eriol. "I would think that after that lip-lock, you'd be smiling like an idiot!"

Li blushed, unaware that anyone could have seen he and Sakura kissing.

"Tomoyo videotaped it, you know? And guess who has it…" he said, waving the tape around.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS? DO YOU KNOW HOW DEEP IN SHIT I AM IF TOUYA SEES THAT?" Li screamed.

"…hmm… Yes!" said Eriol, running off.

"DAMN YOU HIIRAGAZAWA!" said Li, taking off after him, leaving a confused, yet ecstatic pair of girls in their wake, walking after them and talking… until a very loud:

"KAWAIIIIII!"

was heard throughout the park, and the group headed home.

----------------------------------OwArI--------------------------------------

Well, how was it?

I thought it was okay…

No, this isn't the last chapter!

Review please!

Machiko-chan


	6. Hopes and Realizations

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. I just like writing stories about the characters.

_(Recap)_

_Li blushed, unaware that anyone could have seen he and Sakura kissing._

"_Tomoyo videotaped it, you know? And guess who has it…" he said, waving the tape around._

"_ARE YOU SERIOUS? DO YOU KNOW HOW DEEP IN SHIT I AM IF TOUYA SEES THAT?" Li screamed._

"…_hmm… Yes!" said Eriol, running off._

"_DAMN YOU HIIRAGAZAWA!" said Li, taking off after him, leaving a confused, yet ecstatic pair of girls in their wake, walking after them and talking… until a very loud:_

"_KAWAIIIIII!"_

_was heard throughout the park, and the group headed home._

---------------------------------Chapter 6-----------------------------------

As Li and Sakura clambered out of the car when they got home, Fujitaka was beaming. His little girl was the happiest he'd ever seen her. And it was all because of this boy.

But... they were REALLY quiet... 'Did something happen today?'

Li and Sakura were in their own little world, looking at each other, blushing, and holding hands as they walked down the walkway to the door.

And Touya was watching the whole thing, huffing, with his face and hands plastered up against the window.

'NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! It's happened! It's happened! THAT DAMN BRAT! I'LL SLAUGHTER HI-'

However, all of his coherent thoughts were cut off as he was smashed against the window by the opening door.

Gee, I wonder who opened it.

"BRAT! WHAT KIND OF SPELL DID YOU PUT ON MY SISTER?" Touya screamed.

"Mr. Kinomoto... what the hell is your delusional son speaking abou-OW! Mr. Kinomoto!" said Li, as he was promptly hit on the head with a rolled up newspaper.

"I. DESPISE. SWEARING. If you're going to be a part of this family, that has to stop. I'm sure you'd much rather have me hit you than Touya though, ne?" Kinomoto smiled.

"F-family?" squeaked Sakura.

"Well, for two weeks at least."

"NANI? HE'S STAYING WITH US FOR TWO WHOLE WEEKS?" yelled Sakura, eyes wide and blushing.

At this, Li decided to cut in.

"Hai, 'Kura. I guess you're just gonna have to deal with me, huh?" he said as he stepped closer to her and hugged her, making her blush bright red.

"HOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I have to go! To my room! Oyasuminasai!" yelled Sakura, leaving a very confused group of males standing around and looking at each other.

"Soooo..." started Li. "Does she usually do stuff like that now?"

"Nope. First time since you left." said Fujitaka.

BLUSH

-----------------------------In Sakura's Room------------------------------

Sakura ran up to her room and slammed the door, immediately going to her oak wood desk for her diary.

Only it wasn't there.

She started panicking, thinking that Touya had perhaps grabbed it to embarrass her about Li, or simply to see how she feels about Li.

She looked frantically around her room for about 15 minutes before her gaze fell on the glittery pink book unclasped on the floor near her bed.

'Did I leave it there? ...Maybe I left it there from two nights ago when I was writing on the floor... Yeah, phew, that's gotta be it!' she breathed a sigh of relief, and picked it up before flopping onto her bed and flipping open to the next blank page.

And she started to write.

_June 28th, 2006_

_Li-kun is back! My Li-kun is back! Well, he's been back since yesterday, but, anyway! Oh, and I have so much to tell you, diary..._

_Today we (Li-kun and I!) went to Tokyo Disneyland with Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun. It was so much fun! Li-kun was beating up Eriol the whole day, but that was to be expected, as:_

_I didn't tell him Eriol was coming._

_Li-kun still dislikes him for putting me in danger._

_Li-kun just needed something to hit._

_Of course, Tomoyo-chan taped the whole day! I even found out something new: _

_Li-kun is (or maybe was, now!) afraid of roller coasters! Isn't that funny? He's such a great, fierce warrior, yet he's afraid of roller coasters! Weird, ne?_

_Well, that's not the only thing interesting that happened at Tokyo Disney. Let's just say I'm not going to forget this trip easily._

_We kissed._

_Twice!_

_And yes, on the lips, not on the cheek!_

_Space Mountain (that roller coaster rocks!) was just about to start up, when he got nervous. I asked him why he was so afraid, and he told me a sad story involving his sisters. I felt bad, and almost started to cry, and then… HE KISSED ME!_

_And then I kissed him back!_

_It was so cute! His eyes got really big, and he was really surprised!_

_I think… he likes me back. Can you believe that? I think I'm going to ask him out… tomorrow. Wish me luck!_

With that, she closed the glittery pink book, lay down and sighed. And then she smiled, and drifted off to sleep

------------------------------------OwArI------------------------------------

Well, there's chapter 6!

Sorry I haven't been getting the chapters out as quickly…

I've been having ridiculous amounts of homework over the past weeks, so finding time to update is a little rough.

I'll be trying my best, though, so please help me by REVIEWING!

Arigatoo!

Machiko-chan


	7. Acceptance

Disclaimer: GODS! I already told you people, I DON'T OWN CCS!

_(Recap)_

_And she started to write._

_June 28th, 2006_

_Li-kun is back! My Li-kun is back! Well, he's been back since yesterday, but, anyway! Oh, and I have so much to tell you, diary..._

_Today we (Li-kun and I!) went to Tokyo Disneyland with Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun. It was so much fun! Li-kun was beating up Eriol the whole day, but that was to be expected, as:_

_I didn't tell him Eriol was coming._

_Li-kun still dislikes him for putting me in danger._

_Li-kun just needed something to hit._

_Of course, Tomoyo-chan taped the whole day! I even found out something new:_

_Li-kun is (or maybe was, now!) afraid of roller coasters! Isn't that funny? He's such a great, fierce warrior, yet he's afraid of roller coasters! Weird, ne?_

_Well, that's not the only thing interesting that happened at Tokyo Disney. Let's just say I'm not going to forget this trip easily._

_We kissed._

_Twice!_

_And yes, on the lips, not on the cheek!_

_Space Mountain (that roller coaster rocks!) was just about to start up, when he got nervous. I asked him why he was so afraid, and he told me a sad story involving his sisters. I felt bad, and almost started to cry, and then… HE KISSED ME!_

_And then I kissed him back!_

_It was so cute! His eyes got really big, and he was really surprised!_

_I think… he likes me back. Can you believe that? I think I'm going to ask him out… tomorrow. Wish me luck!_

With that, she closed the glittery pink book, lay down and sighed. And then she smiled, and drifted off to sleep.

---------------------------------Chapter 7-----------------------------------

Li awoke the next morning feeling very uncomfortable.

And with a very good reason.

Touya was standing, no, looming over him and glaring daggers at him.

"HOLY CRAP! TOUYA WHAT THE HECK IS YOUR PROBLEM, MAN?" Li screamed as he fell out of the bed in shock.

Touya was scaaaaaaarrryyy… His eyes were dark, and completely devoid of any emotion other than hate, or something quite near it, as Li noted.

"What. The. HELL. Did. You. Do. To. My. SIIIISSSSSSSTTERRR?" Touya screamed as he whapped Li on the head with a rolled up newspaper.

"OWWW! What the HELL is with the males of this family and rolled up frikken NEWSPAPERS?" Li retorted.

Sakura was shocked out of her slumber by a loud shout coming from Li's room, and was instantly worried for his safety, and bolted down the hallway. I mean, Touya was in the same residence as him now.

Sakura could barely stifle her laughs at the scene before her.

Li was scrambling and crawling on the floor, trying to escape the wrath of Touya's "Sports Section Assault." And it was quite unsuccessful. Just as it was getting to the good part, Fujitaka walked in, and a sad expression covered her face as she realized the fight was over.

Or so she thought.

Fujitaka, apparently, found this just as amusing as his daughter, and immediately ran downstairs. Sakura figured he couldn't handle watching it, as his laughter could be heard clearly throughout the household, mingled with Touya's incessant screaming.

However, Fujitaka later reappeared, clutching a bowl of microwave popcorn.

"DAD!" shouted Sakura, shocked at her father's behavior, making the two stop and look at their audience, not realizing the position they were in.

"Well, Li, if you'd rather spend your time with Touya nii-chan like that, then I guess I'll just be gone then!" said Sakura mockingly.

The two boys looked at each other, and realized…

Li on his stomach, Touya sitting on top on him with Li's shirt riding up.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The two quickly scrambled off of the bed, red-faced and embarrassed, followed by an "Awwwwwww… it's over?" by Fujitaka.

Sakura simply smiled, took Li by the arm, and leaned in to his ear, causing him to blush immensely, feeling the warm breath on his ear.

"Let's go for a walk in the park, ne?" she whispered.

-----------------------------In Tomoeda Park-------------------------------

Li and Sakura were strolling through the park, hand-in-hand, getting all kinds of looks: Jealous looks pointed at each of them, looks of adoration, amazement, and occasional looks of pity from boyfriends who had bitchy girlfriends, and figured the same would happen to Li.

They apparently didn't know Sakura.

"Um… so, 'Kura, why did you want to talk to me?" asked Li.

Sakura was shocked out of her little fantasy. She'd always wanted to be able to walk through the park with Li again.

"Oh, sorry Li-kun… I was a little distracted by the penguin…" she said as she smiled.

Li smiled as well.

"Ha, the penguin king still stands, eh? I remember we had a few situations here, huh?" he said smirking at her, and making her blush.

"Hai, we did, Li-kun! And… I wanted to ask you something…"

Li turned to look at her. They had stopped walking, and she was looking at the ground, shuffling her feet while she blushed.

"Dammit you look cute right now." he said.

Sakura blushed and practically exploded.

"OH MY FRIKKEN GOD! DID I SAY THAT OUT LOUD?" Li screamed and blushed beet-red, and Sakura fell to the ground laughing.

"OHMIGOD-HAHAHA!-LI-KUN!-HYAA!-YOUR FACE WAS PRICELESS!" she squealed with laughter, rolling on the grass.

Li watched her in amusement, laughing loudly with her before kneeling down to her level and looking her straight in the eyes, stopping everything dead in their tracks.

Beautiful, shining, glittering, emeralds.

He could swear he was lost. If she didn't say anything, he'd be in a lifelong trance.

'Goddamn… How on earth can anyone have such beautiful eyes…?' he thought, as he unconsciously reached forward and cupped her cheek, feeling her smooth silky skin beneath his touch.

Sakura was stunned. His eyes made her feel… naked, lost, confused, and more importantly, loved. And when he touched her, well, let's just say it didn't help to heighten her sense of awareness.

'Oh… I'm… melting…' she thought blissfully, as she closed her eyes.

Thus ending Li's trance. He looked at the girl in front of him, smiling happily, with her eyes closed, and decided to take this chance.

He leaned forward, and pressed his lips to hers.

Sakura's eyes snapped open just in time to see him lean forward, before closing her eyes once he kissed her.

Li leaned down over Sakura on the grass, never breaking the kiss, oblivious to the blushes and stares passing people gave them. However, not all things can be tuned out…

"HEY SYAOOOOORAAAANN! Having a good time over there with Sakura, eh?"

Li flinched mid-kiss, and Sakura snapped her eyes open in shock, only to see…

"EEP! TOMOYOOOOO-CHAN! ERIOL-KUUUUUUN!" Sakura whined and squealed.

Li got up quietly, and socked Eriol right on the jaw, then grabbed him by the collar and shook him.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM? DO YOU HAVE NO SENSE OF DECENCY WHATSOEVER?" Li screamed.

"Well, my dear, dear, Li-OW! MY ASS!" said Eriol as he was promptly dropped to the ground.

"As I was saying, Tomoyo-chan felt that it would be a good time for a walk in the park, so…"

Sakura looked over to Tomoyo, who was wearing her timeless 'I-did-something-you-don't-know-about' look, and was apparently filming the entire scene.

"…Tooomoooooyoooo-chaaan… Is there something you want to tell me?" Sakura gritted out dangerously.

Tomoyo started to get slightly nervous as she fiddled with the black lace layering her skirt, and the camera started to shake.

"We-well… OH, SAKURA-CHAN! I could never lie to you! I called your house and your otou-san said you were coming here, so I had to follow you!" she wailed. "I could never be able to live with myself if I didn't get that moment on film! And neither would Touya-kun… Oh, crap. I wasn't supposed to say that…"

Li's eyes got wide.

"ARE YOU TWO SERIOUSLY TRYING TO KILL ME OR SOMETHING? I ALREADY GOT ASSAULTED TODAY FROM THAT GIANT MONKEY, YOU THINK I NEED IT AGAIN?" he yelled.

Both Tomoyo and Eriol were highly amused, while Sakura just stood there, still in shock from the fact that they were going to try to show that to Touya.

"You'd better not show that to him, Daidouji! I want to make sure I'm alive to…" Li trailed.

Tomoyo's eyes sparkled.

"To what, Li-kun?" she asked mischievously.

Li turned bright red and started to stammer.

"Th-th-that's for me to know! You'll… you'll find out later…"

Sakura looked at him curiously.

'That must be that secret again… I hope he tells me soon…' she silently hoped.

Li looked to Sakura and smiled his heart-melting smile again before walking over to her and taking her hands.

"Sakura… I'll tell you when we're finally alone. I promise." he said gently, before kissing her lightly on her temple.

Sakura turned volcano once more, causing a chuckle to erupt from Li's chest.

Tomoyo was tearing shaking by now, dying from holding it in.

What, you ask?

"KAAAAAAWAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, causing poor Eriol, still not quite used to it, to promptly faint.

Li smiled.

"GOOD! The idiot could be DEAD for all I care! HA!"

Sakura smacked Li on the head playfully.

"Li-kun, you know very well that you don't mean that!" she smiled.

Li smiled back, knowing it was the truth. He didn't hate Hiiragazawa. He just… annoyed the hell out of him. He wasn't bad, but… egh.

Suddenly, Sakura remembered the reason she'd wanted to come for a walk.

To…

Ask Li on a…

A…

DATE!

She blushed quickly before regaining her composure and turning Li to face her, catching Li off-guard.

"WHOA!" he said before crashing into her, knocking them to the ground.

"You seem to be quite a bit more clumsy lately, eh, Li-kun?" Sakura said smiling up at him.

"Well, I'm not usually this clumsy… It's just whenever I'm around this girl…" Li smirked at her, and poked her stomach, making her squeal and blush.

"Li-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"The reason I wanted you to come for a walk with me… was that… um… I wanted to ask you if you maybe… wanted to… go with me… to the beach tomorrow…?" she asked nervously, blushing brightly.

Li had the stupidest look on his face, and Tomoyo had the great privilege of catching it on camera. He was smiling with his mouth open, and his eyes wide, and blushing from ear-to-ear.

"O-o-o-o-of course, 'Kura! I'd love to!" he stuttered.

"YAY!" squealed Sakura, before blushing.

"…I said that out loud, didn't I?" she questioned.

Li laughed and rested his forehead against hers.

"Ha, yeah you did, cherry blossom!"

Eriol and Tomoyo were beaming. Their best friend was so happy… Eriol and Tomoyo said their goodbyes (well, Eriol did… He had to literally DRAG Tomoyo away from the scene), and headed to the mall.

Li and Sakura stayed there for a minute, laughing and hugging each other, before Li looked at Sakura, love showing through his eyes, and caught Sakura by surprise.

"What is it Li-kun?"

Li stayed quiet for a moment, before answering her question.

"I'm going to tell you tomorrow, 'Kura. I'm going to tell you tomorrow." he said smiling through his eyes.

Sakura smiled, feeling happier than she ever felt in her life.

'He trusts me… he trusts me… thank you God…' she thought as she pulled Li into a tight embrace.

The two looked at each lovingly, before Sakura said something that would once again reverberate in his head for years to come.

"Thank you, Li-kun."

------------------------------Back at the house-----------------------------

Li and Sakura arrived back to the house after 3 hours. Just enough time to make Touya think Li took advantage of her.

"YOU BRAT! HOW DARE YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SAKURA! HOW DARE-Sakura?" Touya's voice was confused as he saw Sakura step in front of Li protectively.

Li was just as surprised, and his eyes grew large.

'She's standing up to Touya… for me?'

Sakura was more than annoyed with this routine already.

"TOUYA! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU? HE DID NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ME! I AM OLD ENOUGH TO MAKE MY OWN DECISIONS!" she shouted.

"But… imouto-chan…" Touya faltered.

"NO, TOUYA! STOP IT! LI IS…Li is… special to me… please treat him nicely… please…" she said as she started to sob.

Li was pissed off. He'd made HIS Sakura cry.

"Touya. I'm sorry for everything. Just please, don't make life harder on Sakura. I know you feel I've hurt her, and I probably have for leaving her for so long, but… she's special to me as well. I wouldn't be here in Tomoeda if it weren't for your sister." Li said softly as he hugged Sakura.

Touya was amazed. This whole time… what was being taken away from him wasn't Sakura… it was his duty as her guardian.

'It's no longer my job…' he thought sadly, before realizing something.

"Sakura…" Touya said softly.

Sakura looked up at him slowly.

"H-hai, nii-chan?"

He leaned down and whispered into her ear something softly, that no once could hear, then stood up quickly and left to the kitchen to join his father smiling, leaving Sakura blushing profusely.

Li was puzzled. Why was he so happy, and why is she blushing so hard?

Sakura couldn't believe what Touya had said. And she started to smile happily as she recalled what he said, replaying it over and over again.

'I know you love him, imouto-chan. Just make sure he takes care of you, or I'll kill him, got it?'

And she giggled.

----------------------------------OwArI-------------------------------------

imouto-chan- affectionate term for 'little sister'

(o)nii-chan- affectionate term for 'older brother'

Hmmm... I think this may be the longest one yet… Eh, I don't like the end of the chappie, though…

Well, please review!

Arigatoo!

Machiko-chan!


	8. His Secret Not Really

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. Get used to it.

_(Recap)_

_Sakura couldn't believe what Touya had said. And she started to smile happily as she recalled what he said, replaying it over and over again._

'_I know you love him, imouto-chan. Just make sure he takes care of you, or I'll kill him, got it?'_

_And she giggled_

-------------------------------Chapter 8-------------------------------------

Sakura awoke the next day shivering with anticipation.

Today, she was going on a date.

With Li.

At this thought, she started to blush profusely, but later got out of her flowery bed and looked at the clock.

9:36 a.m.

That gave her about two and a half hours to pick the perfect swimsuit and the outfit to go with it…

Sakura thought for a second, and then it struck her. She looked frantically in all of her drawers and in her closet, and realized…

'I don't have a swimsuit!' she thought fearfully.

Sakura immediately grabbed her cherry blossom cell phone and dialed the number she knew she had to call someday, on this occasion.

"Hello?"

"…Tomoyo-chan?"

"Hai, Sakura-chan? Nani yo?"

"Well… We have a situation…" Sakura could see Tomoyo's eyes widening through the phone.

"What kind of situation?" Tomoyo asked excitedly.

"_Sigh…_ I have no swimsuit or clothes…"

"Why is that a problem?"

'THAT'S RIGHT!' Sakura thought as she slapped herself. 'I didn't tell Tomoyo!'

"I forgot to tell you yesterday?"

"…forgot to tell me _what?_" said Tomoyo mockingly, already knowing what she was going to say.

"That… Li-kun and I… are going on a date to the beach…" Sakura squeaked out, before hurriedly yanking the phone away from her ear to avoid the inevitable onslaught of:

"KAWAII! KAWAII, KAWAII, KAWAIIIIIIIIIIIIII! KAWAAAAAAII!"

Sakura sweatdropped, and counted the seconds. 43 seconds.

"You done yet, Tomoyo-chan?"

"Gomennasai. Hai, I'm done!" Tomoyo squealed.

"So… what do I do? I have two hours and… 15 minutes to get my outfit!" Sakura squealed into the phone worriedly.

"Meet me at the mall. You have 5 minutes." Click.

-----------------------------At Tomoeda Mall-------------------------------

Sakura didn't even get a chance to look around before she was grabbed roughly by the arm in a flash of blue-black hair and pulled into _UnderH2O_, the most fashionable swimsuit store in all of Tomoeda.

"YEEP! Tomoyo-chan! Hold on! I can't see where I'm going!" squeaked Sakura as Tomoyo get piling on suits and random coverings to go with them into Sakura's outstretched hands.

"Don't worry, Sakura! I know your limits better than anyone!" Tomoyo chided mockingly. "Now go! Into the dressing room!" she pointed, and helped Sakura to them.

After 45 minutes of trying on swimsuits, they had found the perfect one.

"Oh… maybe we shouldn't get this one… Li-kun might not be able to restrain himself!" Tomoyo gasped and exclaimed.

Sakura turned a bright red from head-to-toe.

"W-w-well, I'm sure Li-kun will be a gentleman, so let's get it…" Sakura stuttered, happy that she'd be able to impress Li.

Sakura's eyes widened as she reached into her white handbag.

"TOMOYO-CHAN! I forgot my mon-" Sakura trailed as she looked up, only to see Tomoyo paying for the swimsuit already.

"But, Tomoyo! I can't let you pay for today!" gasped Sakura.

"Of course you can, Sakura-chan!" said Tomoyo, smiling the biggest smile she had in years. "This is your lucky day, I intend to make sure you are dressed as such!" she said as she pumped her hand in emphasis.

Sakura smiled at her friend, and hugged her tightly.

"Thanks, Tomoyo-chan! You're the best!"

"I know, dahling, I know!" mocked Tomoyo in a fake accent, making Sakura giggle. "Now, let's go! We still have to get you an outfit to wear going to and after the beach!"

"Okay, but we only have... about 2 hours to get it, go back to my house, and get ready to leave!" Sakura said.

"Don't worry, I intend to get done MUCH faster than that, hehehe..." Tomoyo said, eyes gleaming.

This, unknown to Tomoyo, scared Sakura.

"Eheheheheh... r-r-right, Tomoyo-chan!" said Sakura nervously as Tomoyo pulled her into countless numbers of stores, before settling on something Tomoyo said would make Li's "eyes bulge out of his sockets."

The entire project took about and hour and 45 minutes, leaving about a half-hour for Sakura to get ready.

The two then went to Sakura's house, where Tomoyo continued to pore over her, putting her hair this way and that, and adding small amounts of make-up, not that Sakura needed it, mind you.

And when they were finished, all Tomoyo could do was gawk with glassy eyes at her masterpiece.

They finished at exactly 11:56, giving Sakura a few minutes to gawk at herself in the mirror before walking downstairs to meet Li.

Li was shocked. He'd never imagined any girl looking this beautiful. He already thought Sakura was the most beautiful creature to grace this Earth, but now... she was a goddess.

His feet moved without thinking as he glided over to the staircase and took her hand.

She was wearing a tight dark green tank top with a small pink blossom embroidered on the right shoulder strap, and pink ribbons splaying forth from it across the front of the shirt, making them look like pink sunbeams; tight black capris with dark green stitching, and dainty black and green flats with a green beaded flower on each heel. She had a small amount of lip gloss on, just enough to drive him nuts for her lips, and he could smell it: strawberry daiquiri. On her ears were tiny sakura blossoms with dark green leaves, and his and her mother's pendant adorned her neck. Her hair was in a loose upsweep, and sent small strips of hair to frame her delicate face, and her beautiful emerald eyes. Those eyes which could easily have someone lost in them.

As Li was now.

"Wow. You... look... amazing." he breathed out, amazed that such a girl would give him the time of day.

Sakura was blushing wildly, and held her hands up to her mouth, little green bag in hand, to cover her blushing face, before Li took her hands and her breath away.

"Don't cover your face. I want to see you."

They took each other's hands, blushing and smiling, before slowly walking out the door, ignoring Tomoyo's "KAWAII" chorus and video-taping, and Fujitaka's tearing as he saw his little girl go.

And they walked together, hand in hand.

As they walked, Li decided he would tell her, but not before calming her down some.

"Sakura, did you know that you're wearing my favorite color?" he smiled at her softly.

Sakura brightened, and then blushed.

"...Yes, yes I did. I wanted to look especially nice for you today..." she said shyly, hiding her head.

Li gently cupped her cheek and turned her to face him.

"Don't look away from me. I told you, I need to be able to see your face..." he said, blushing at how desperate it sounded.

Sakura was in heaven. Her Li-kun liked her, maybe even loved her back. All she knew was, she loved him, and that would never change. She gently took his face, and bent him down to kiss him.

And that was all it took for Li to make up his mind, as he reached into his pocket to touch the question…

---------------------------------The Beach----------------------------------

The couple was still smiling and blushing even when they reached the beach. The two then went off to their separate cabanas and changed.

Both Sakura and Li could hardly restrain themselves when they saw each other.

Li was, of course, topless, his lightly tanned and toned body making Sakura blush and feel like she was in the presence of a model. He wore black surf shorts with a dark green dragon with shimmering silver scales going up the side.

'Oh god, he looks good...' she thought, before blushing even brighter when she saw his eyes on her.

She was blushing, standing there in the sand in a dark pink and green bikini, with cherry blossoms weaving throughout the design. And Li noticed something else. There was a small tattoo at the beginning of her hip. A small moon and sun.

He leaned forward and kissed her, before grabbing her in his arms and carrying her bridal style to the water and throwing her in. She sputtered for a while at the shock of the water touching her skin, but later got an idea.

"L-L-Li-kun... I'm c-c-cold!" she stuttered, with a mischievous glint in her eye, which went unnoticed by Li.

As he came in to get her, she grabbed him by the shoulders and dunked him, and swam away quickly, before coming up and laughing at the shocked and stuttering boy in front of her.

"A...bwa...how...I'M GONNA GET YOU FOR THAT ONE, 'KURA!" he growled out, smiling as he came for her.

"AHHH!" she squealed and screamed, running through the water at no avail as he tackled her into the water, where they shared a salty underwater kiss, and played for the rest of the afternoon.

Before they were about to leave for home, Li gathered Sakura up in his arms as they sat on the beach towel. Sakura blushed and looked up at him, his eyes a smoldering amber as he looked her.

"Li-kun? Is something wrong?" she questioned.

He smiled for a minute then kissed her.

"No, there's nothing wrong. In fact, I want to tell you something." he said softly into her ear, making her shiver at the contrast of the cool air and hot breath.

"I love you." he said softly.

Sakura stared up at him with wide eyes, not able to believe what she had just heard.

"Li… say it again…" she said quietly.

Li was confused. Did she not hear him?

"I said I love you, 'Kura. I love you."

Sakura started to smile, before turning around and knocking him to the sand and giving him a searing kiss, one that confirmed her emotions for him.

When they broke the kiss, Li brought a tiny silver velvet box our from his pants pocket.

"Sakura… I lived without you for four long-ass years. I don't think I can do that again." he said smiling. "I'm giving you this as a promise." he said, opening the small box and making Sakura gasp and stare in amazement.

Inside the box rested the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen. It had a platinum band, and a silver cherry blossom brushed with pink, and a three stunning pink diamonds in the middle of the blossom, with opalescent green leaves fringing the blossom.

Li slowly took the ring out of the box and looked at her slowly.

"Sakura… this is a promise ring. I want to make a promise to you. I promise that as soon as we're 20, I will sweep you off your feet, and marry you, even if your stupid brother says no. Will you wait for me?" he said softly.

Sakura started crying, and looked at Li, a smile across her face.

'He asked me to marry him… he asked me to marry him… Oh God, he asked me to marry him!'

She quickly embraced him, and sobbed on his shoulder.

"Syaoran Li… no, Xiaolang Li… how stupid ARE you?" she shouted at him, worrying him and causing his face to scrunch up in confusion.

"Of course I'll marry you, you idiot!" she said before kissing him on the lips, with the most passion and happiness she'd ever had in her life.

All Li could do was lie there happily, no, in a state of ecstasy as he realized this girl would be with him for the rest of his life.

And then the rest of his words set in.

'_Will you wait for me?'_

"Wait... Xiaolang, what will I have to wait for?" she asked quietly.

Li straightened up and cupped her cheek.

"I need to go back to Hong Kong for a while... no longer than a year at the most, to get living arrangements set for... us, here in Tomoeda. My mother said that I needed to find the person I loved more than anything, and take her back to meet her... I leave in a week. Will you come with me?" he questioned.

Sakura was, again, in shock. Her green eyes widened, realizing that she would be going to Hong Kong to meet the now famous Yelan Li, whom Li had been constantly talking about on their date, and what she was like. She had finally figured out that Li had done this to get her ready to meet Yelan.

"Well, I want to be with you forever, so I guess that means yes, ne?" she said confidently, as she rested her head on his chest.

"So... should we be going back to tell the good news to everyone, 'Kura?" he said smirking.

She looked into his eyes, and realized something. She no longer felt helpless and lost when she looked into them. She felt... stronger, more alive.

She smiled and started to get up, before Li pulled her back.

"No, allow me." he said softly, before scooping her up in his arms bridal style, and carrying her back to the house, Sakura blushing at the looks there were getting the entire way back.

------------------------------Back at Home---------------------------------

Sakura had invited everyone over to her house the very instant she and Li had stepped through the threshold. Everyone meaning EVERYONE, including Yamazaki, Naoko, Chiharu, Rika, Meiling, Yukito, Tomoyo, and Eriol (to Li's disgust).

Tomoyo had of course, brought her video camera, as she felt tonight might be special. She immediately whipped it out when she heard Sakura and Li clear their throats.

"Um... thanks to everyone for coming on such short notice. Li-kun and I have something to share with everybody..." said Sakura, blushing lightly.

"OH MY GOD! YOU'RE PREGNANT, AREN'T YOU! YOU LITTLE BRAT, I TOLD YOU NOT T-OW! OWWW! OW! OW! STOP ALREADY!" screamed Touya, as he was beaten severely by the couple trying to speak.

"Ahem... as I was saying, we have something to share with everybody. NO, I am NOT pregnant... Li-kun and I... are going to get married!" she squealed.

Dead silence.

"KYAAA!" squealed Naoko.

"FLIPPIN' FINALLY!" yelled Chiharu.

"Took you guys long enough!" exclaimed Rika.

"Well, did you know that if the groom and the bride–"

"SHUT UP YAMAZAKI!" shouted everyone in unison.

"Fine. Some people have no appreciation for creative genius." Yamazaki sulked.

"Well, you guys are going to have to wait longer. We're not going to get married until we're 20." At this, many grunts and groans of disapproval rang throughout the room. "Hold on, hold on, there's a reason!" Li said.

"Yup! Li-kun wants to have me visit his mother, Yelan Li, in Hong Kong in one week. I will be staying there for 2 months with the permission of otou-san..." she said as she turned to face Fujitaka.

Fujitaka was now the center of attention, and was getting many glares stating what he was advised to say. He had a very good sense of self-preservation.

"Of course, you can go, Sakura." he said smiling, as a tear slid down his face, noticed only by Sakura as everyone else was celebrating. She quietly made her way over to him and gave him a hug.

"You'll always be my daddy, you know?" she said as she gave him a peck on the cheek.

Fujitaka looked up at her, and could swear he saw Nadeshiko behind her.

"I know, Sakura, I know. You'll always be my little girl." He said softly as he sobbed.

This was stopped when a very loud, bespectacled azure-headed boy stepped in front of the TV and started to clap loudly.

"ALRIGHT, EVERYONE! Can I have your attention, please! My beautiful girlfriend, Tomoyo Daidouji and I have been... making a documentary of our favorite lovebirds' time together, not just from this weekend, but from 4 years ago and before. I even had the privilege of sending for photos from Yelan!" At which Li promptly fainted.

"Without further ado, let's watch the video! Tomoyo-chan!" Eriol cooed.

Tomoyo quickly slid the DVD into the player, and Rika turned off the lights.

The TV quickly lit up with a picture of Sakura and Li asleep on each other's shoulders during PE years ago, with large white writing "The Kawaii Couple", obviously Tomoyo's idea.

Sakura and Li watched together silently, tears occasionally slipping from their eyes, until the middle of the video, which had a picture of young Li dressed in girls' clothes and pigtails, with eye shadow and copious amounts of blush. Sakura couldn't stop laughing, which ended in Li blushing madly as he tried to tickle Sakura into shutting up, which did nothing.

Li got his revenge however, as a picture of Sakura after cutting her own hair appeared on the screen. Sakura's eyes were wide open in surprise at the camera her father had pointed at her after coming out of the bathroom. One pigtail was gone completely, while the other hung loosely off the other side of her head. Her bangs were jagged, and hair was all over the bathroom. Li couldn't breathe within a few minutes, and needed to run out of the room in order to breathe. During all of this, Sakura simply sat there, blushing and looking as innocent as possible, trying to deny that such a thing had ever happened.

The video went on to show pictures of the two in middle school, leading up to the year Li left for Hong Kong. There was a picture of Li hugging Sakura before he left on the bus, with tears streaming down Sakura's face, and caused the entire party, even Touya, though he denied it immensely, to tear and cry.

And then came Tokyo Disney. There was much teasing over Li-kun tripping and Tomoyo teasing him, as well as Sakura's arm-flapping scene, which caused many red faces and breathless laughing fits, making Eriol and Yamazaki faint from lack of oxygen. And then came the kiss, which was decidedly the first, which Tomoyo decided to illustrate by putting the words "THE FIRST OF MANY!" across the screen. Touya almost lost it. No, he did.

"THAT WAS BEFORE I ACCEPTED YOU, YOU LITTLE RAT! HOW DARE Y-"

"TOUYA! SHUT THE HECK UP!"

"…Rrrgh…frikken little…"

And then the park scene showed up, only to make Sakura and Li blush madly and Touya to run out of the room swearing while Fujitaka fumed and thought of ways to quietly dispose of his son and make a new one look JUST like him.

The video ended with a picture of the two at the Hinamatsuri festival five years back, Sakura in her red and dark green flowered kimono and Li in his black yukata, leading Sakura around by the hand as she held a stuffed teddy bear won for her. Across the screen in silvery writing were the words "Xiaolang Li and Sakura Kinomoto: In Love When They Never Knew!"

Li and Sakura found this ending funny, and told Tomoyo it seemed out of the timeline, only to have Tomoyo glare and point to Eriol, who as it turned out, decided to put that caption without Tomoyo's permission. He would later have to beg for his life.

The gang then turned to look at the couple, who were snuggled together, Sakura sitting on Li's lap and smiling happily at each other, which caused Tomoyo to go into another "KAWAII!" seizure. Fujitaka decided that it was time to let everyone go, and ended the party. The family then sat down in the kitchen to discuss the travel arrangements.

"So, will I be financing this trip, Syaoran?" asked Fujitaka.

"No, of course not! My family will be financing it, and she will be staying with me and my family on our estate." said Li.

"...You won't let my daughter out of your sight, right?" said Fujitaka rather dangerously, and Li got the message.

"O-of course sir! I love your daughter, and I would do anything to keep her safe!"

"YOU BETTER DAMN FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THAT!" yelled Touya. "If my sister gets hurt because of you, I'll kill you with my bare, hands, wakarimasu ka?"

"Hai, wakarimasu, Touya." said Li calmly.

Sakura looked at this happily. The three main men in her life, all sitting at the same table and getting along. Well, relatively, anyway.

"Li-kun... no, Xiaolang... I will be with you and your family for one month, ne?" she managed to say nervously.

"Yup."

"Well... I was just wondering... are your sisters going to be there as well?"

Li froze.

'SHIT! THEM! DAMN!'

Everyone at the table looked at Li as his twisted as if he were in pain. Touya found it hilarious, Fujitaka was wondering how someone's face cold do such a thing, and Sakura... well, she was both, but worried as well.

"That means yes, doesn't it?"

"...unfortunately, yeah..."

"I'm sure I'll be able to get along with them Xiaolang."

"'Kura, I want you to call me Li-kun. My name sounds so... I dunno, weird to me now in Chinese..."

Sakura smiled. She'd much rather call him Li-kun anyway.

"Well, Li-kun, there's nothing to worry about, right? I'm sure I'll be able to get along with them."

"That's what I'm worried about." Li said, getting confused looks across the table. "When my sisters like somebody, and I mean really like somebody, they get a little... eccentric, maybe?"

"Nani?"

"Well... You're really cute, (at which Sakura blushed madly) so I'm guessing you'll get an even louder 'KAWAII!' chorus than Tomoyo can give right when you walk through the door, before your cheeks are pinched and you're kidnapped and taken to their room where they play dress-up with you and make you parade around the estate. Or something along those lines."

The entire table was gaping. How on earth did he have such a detailed description? Surely they didn't...

"HA! They did that to YOU, didn't they?" yelled Touya laughing.

Li simply growled and blushed, while Sakura laughed and gave him a hug.

"Of course they did. My Li-kun is too cute to pass up, right? Didn't you see that picture of Li-kun in a dress?" said Sakura, which caused laughter to erupt into the room, while Li slowly sank in his chair.

"This is going to be a long trip..." he mumbled.

-----------------------------------OwArI-------------------------------------

Wow... that was definitely the longest chapter so far.

Nani yo? – What is it?

Hinamatsuri Festival – Girl's Day; Day of the Dolls

Wakarimasu ka? – Do you understand?

Hai, wakarimasu – I understand.

Gomennasai! Sorry for making you guys wait so long for the update, but this chapter took a long time to write...

Anyway, review and give suggestions, please!

Machiko-chan


	9. Off We Go

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. Simple, ne?

_(Recap)_

_Everyone at the table looked at Li as his twisted as if he were in pain. Touya found it hilarious, Fujitaka was wondering how someone's face cold do such a thing, and Sakura... well, she was both, but worried as well._

"_That means yes, doesn't it?"_

"_...unfortunately, yeah..."_

"_I'm sure I'll be able to get along with them Xiaolang."_

"'_Kura, I want you to call me Li-kun. My name sounds so... I dunno, weird to me now in Chinese..."_

_Sakura smiled. She'd much rather call him Li-kun anyway._

"_Well, Li-kun, there's nothing to worry about, right? I'm sure I'll be able to get along with them."_

"_That's what I'm worried about." Li said, getting confused looks across the table. "When my sisters like somebody, and I mean really like somebody, they get a little... eccentric, maybe?"_

"_Nani?"_

"_Well... You're really cute, (at which Sakura blushed madly) so I'm guessing you'll get an even louder 'KAWAII!' chorus than Tomoyo can give right when you walk through the door, before your cheeks are pinched and you're kidnapped and taken to their room where they play dress-up with you and make you parade around the estate. Or something along those lines."_

_The entire table was gaping. How on earth did he have such a detailed description? Surely they didn't..._

"_HA! They did that to YOU, didn't they?" yelled Touya laughing._

_Li simply growled and blushed, while Sakura laughed and gave him a hug._

"_Of course they did. My Li-kun is too cute to pass up, right? Didn't you see that picture of Li-kun in a dress?" said Sakura, which caused laughter to erupt into the room, while Li slowly sank in his chair._

"_This is going to be a long trip..." he mumbled._

--------------------------------Chapter 9------------------------------------

Syaoran simply stood there in awe as he watched Sakura tornado through her room to pack. Clothes flew everywhere, of every shape and color. Dresses, shirts, pants, shorts, bras (BLUSH), undies (BLUSH), everything went into the bright pink suitcase balanced precariously on the edge of Sakura's bed.

What would cause such chaos, you ask?

"HOEEEEEE!!! WASUREMASHITA!!! Ashita Hong-Kong ni ikimasu!! DAME!!" Sakura screamed as she ran around the room, while Li stood there laughing.

"LI-KUN!! Could you help me please! I'm going crazy, and-MMPH!"

Li had pinned Sakura to the bed and kissed her full on the lips.

Li looked at her and smiled.

"Relax, 'Kura. You don't need to worry. I'll help you, you know that... Besides... what I'm doing right now is helping you isn't it?" he smirked.

Sakura blushed immensely.

"NO, IT IS NOT HELPING ME!! I'M EVEN MORE DISTRACTED NOW!!" she squealed as she squirmed to get out from under him.

"Now you aren't helping me. Stop moving, dammit!" he said growling.

Sakura paled. He wasn't usually this… aggressive. It scared her, and yet… she found it kind of a turn-on.

She smiled before kissing him gently. Li returned the kiss, and got off slowly, beet red.

"S-sorry 'Kura… It's just that… well I kind of… can't control myself around you." he admitted.

Sakura smiled again, and went back to packing.

"I know… Why do you think I squirmed?" she smirked at him, then laughed at his expression.

Li was dumbstruck. Did Sakura… just trick him into… doing that? Li wasn't aware how much time had passed before Sakura slammed the top of her bag down and looked at him again, snapping him out of his reverie.

"Believe it or not, Xiaolang Li, I've gotten quite good at being sneaky…" she said, as she walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek before walking out of the room and winking at him.

Boy this trip will get interesting, ne?

---------------------------Tomoeda Int'l Airport----------------------------

We now join our dynamic duo at Tomoeda Int'l Airport, where they are currently saying their good-byes and good wishes to all who have come to see them off.

Which is the whole entire frikken city.

Apparently, the two really were blind to their own love, as they constantly heard exclamations of "FINALLY!", "Took them long enough…", and "I thought they were already married!"

Sakura was shaking, both from excitement and disbelief. She was leaving Tomoeda for two months… to stay with Li-kun. Her Li-kun. There were only three problems she saw.

Touya

Leaving otou-san

Crying Tomoyo

Touya wouldn't stop hassling Li about 'if my sister _this_, if my sister _that,'_ and frankly, it was pissing everybody off. Strange thing was, when Kaho, Li and Sakura's old teacher, showed up, he got very quiet.

Sakura couldn't blame him. She knew her teacher was a beautiful woman, one that any man would be lucky to have, and she had suspected Touya's to her the minute they met. Of course, poor Kaho was clueless.

"Sakura, Syaoran if you two need anything at all, don't hesitate to ask me." she said softly, as she embraced the two. "I'll be in Hong Kong for a few months as well, taking care of some necessary business."

Sakura and Li nodded enthusiastically. They knew better than to turn down Kaho's offers. The fact that her offers were wonderful was an added bonus.

Errol meanwhile, decided to get in his last annoying comment to Syaoran that he'd get in a good long time.

"So... what was it like wearing a frilly pink dress, _Syao-chan?_" he said grinning.

Li burst. He ran after Eriol, shouting expletives and curses in Chinese that would make gangsters want to cover their ears. Eriol simply laughed, until Li caught him and shoved a nearby newspaper down his throat. Li turned around and skipped merrily back to the group, who were all watching this little escapade in awe.

Sakura turned around to see her father, Fujitaka, holding a small item in his hand, the size of a deck of cards. He took her hand and slowly placed the item in it, and as he did, an imperceptible tear fell from his eye, and Sakura gasped.

The item... was her mother's childhood music box. It was small and oval-shaped, with a pink pearlescent sheen and tiny nadeshiko and sakura petals painted onto it. It had a polished silver lining, and a tiny pink diamond rested in the center of the lid. On one side of the box was the word "hana" in tiny, elegant lettering.

"Sakura... This is something your mother wanted you to have... you can't open it until your wedding day, but keep it with you at all times. She'll be with you, like she's bee with me..." he choked out.

Sakura was crying by now, and she slowly embraced her father and kissed him on the cheek.

"I love you otou-san... I always will... Thank you..." she said softly.

Li softly put his hand on her shoulder as she turned around.

"'Kura... We've got a plane to catch." he said smiling.

Sakura wiped away her tears and nodded, before turning around to look at her friends. They were all here... to support her... a fact that still floored her every time she thought about it. Then Tomoyo came forward.

"Sakura-chan! You know you're my best friend, right?" she said softly.

"Of course, 'Moyo-chan!" she hugged her tightly.

"Then please, do this for me... Love Li with everything you've got. You deserve, more than anyone I know, to be the happiest person alive!" she said smiling.

Sakura's eyes widened, and she teared, before Tomoyo interrupted once more.

"...And one more thing. I'M DESIGNING YOUR WEDDING DRESS, YOU GOT THAT? YOU'D BETTER NOT THINK OF GONG TO ANY FANCY-ASS DESIGNER NAME, ALRIGHT?" she practically yelled.

Sakura laughed. It was their promise since childhood that Tomoyo would design Sakura's dress, and Sakura would set Tomoyo up with her perfect match. Sakura had done just that, and within a few years, Tomoyo's part of the deal would be fulfilled as well.

The two hugged once more, before pulling apart and going their separate ways, both crying and sobbing, as they were each pulled into their fiancées' arms. As Sakura and Li looked at them, they knew their place in the world, and smiled at each other, before yelling a loud goodbye and boarding the Li family jet.

Their journey was just beginning.

------------------------------------OwArI------------------------------------

Well, there's chapter 9.

Well, for those of you who want an explanation as to why this is so late, here it is.

Over the past weeks, I've been trying to open up a police investigation against one of my best friend's dad. He's been treating her and her siblings with the amount of respect not appropriate for even a germ, and I've been quite busy.

Also, I've had record amounts of homework, my most so far being 10 1/2 hours for one night. And because I'm at boarding school, my lights out is at 10 PM (I know, my life is sad). So basically, I've had no sleep for weeks until now, so I decided to get this chapter out before I was severely flamed.

I am also very sorry that this is such a short chapter.

Hope to write soon,

Machiko-Chan


	10. Love and Pranks

Disclaimer: I don't own them. OH LOOK! Is that a price tag on LI!?!

Li: scrambles and runsFRICK! NOT THIS CRAP AGAIN!!!

Random fangirls: I'LL PAY DOUBLE THE AMOUNT!!! TRIPLE!

Sakura: MACHIKO… glares menacingly

Authoress: Ehehehehehehehe… Right…

_(Recap)_

"_Sakura-chan! You know you're my best friend, right?" she said softly._

"_Of course, 'Moyo-chan!" she hugged her tightly._

"_Then please, do this for me... Love Li with everything you've got. You deserve, more than anyone I know, to be the happiest person alive!" she said smiling._

_Sakura's eyes widened, and she teared, before Tomoyo interrupted once more._

"_...And one more thing. I'M DESIGNING YOUR WEDDING DRESS, YOU GOT THAT? YOU'D BETTER NOT THINK OF GOING TO ANY FANCY-ASS DESIGNER NAME, ALRIGHT?" she practically yelled._

_Sakura laughed. It was their promise since childhood that Tomoyo would design Sakura's dress, and Sakura would set Tomoyo up with her perfect match. Sakura had done just that, and within a few years, Tomoyo's part of the deal would be fulfilled as well._

_The two hugged once more, before pulling apart and going their separate ways, both crying and sobbing, as they were each pulled into their fiancées' arms. As Sakura and Li looked at them, they knew their place in the world, and smiled at each other, before yelling a loud goodbye and boarding the Li family jet._

_Their journey was just beginning._

---------------------------------Chapter 10---------------------------------

The flight to Hong Kong was, though long, quite enjoyable to Sakura. She was able to talk to Li, find out more about his family, and… do some other things with him.

You perverts, don't get any funny ideas!

They had a few tickling matches on the large, plush velvet seats, a few video game tournaments, and a short nap before touching down at the Li estate's private runway.

As Sakura looked out the window, Li smiled as he saw her eyes sparkle with wonder.

"Th…th…this place is HUGE!!! OOKII DESU NEE!!! And, and, and LI-KUN!!! YOU LIVED HERE!?" she squealed.

Li laughed and kissed her on the cheek, causing a pink blush to paint Sakura's face.

"Hai… And…" He was stopped by the curious look in her eyes as she looked to the manor.

"L-Li-kun?"

"Uh… Yeah?"

"Ummm… Are… are those your sisters?"

Li froze instantly and rigidly peered out the window, only to see four smiling, beautiful women tapping on the windows.

"SHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTT!!!!"

---------------------------------Deplaning…---------------------------------

Sure, enough, just as Sakura stepped sheepishly off the plane, a resounding "KAWAII" chorus rang through the air. Sakura just stood there, confused, amused, and slightly afraid as the girls hugged, tickled and looked her over.

"OH MY GOSH, XIAOLANG, SHE'S BEAUTIFUL!!! AND SO CUTE!!! How on earth did she agree to be YOUR wife!?" squealed Feimei.

"I KNOW!!! She's ADORABLE!!" gushed Fuutie.

"WE SHOULD TOTALLY DRESS HER UP!!!" yelled Shiefa.

"I DID just buy new make-up and dresses…" Fanren said.

"YAY!! It's SETTLED!! Sakura, right? You're coming with us!!!" they all yelled in unison.

"We should show her… THE ROOM!!" Feimei said.

And thus, Sakura was whirled away, while Li simply started to unpack the bags.

'Yep, just like I thought…'

And then, a thought struck him…

"_We should show her… THE ROOM!!" _

'Wait…'

"WHAT FRIKKEN ROOM!?"

His eyes widened before realizing… They were going to show her the picture room.

"AW, SHIT!!!"

---------------------------------------------Picture Room--------------------------------------------

Sakura was amazed as the sisters led her into a mahogany room, the walls trimmed with red velvet. The only thing that was more stunning than the ornate décor were the hundreds of family photos strewn along the walls. There were photos that she was sure went back to at least a hundred years ago.

"Sakura-chaaan!" Fanren shouted. "We want to show you something!!"

As Sakura turned, she saw a large wall covered by a red velvet curtain.

"Wh…What is it?" she asked hesitantly.

The sisters snickered for a second, before handing Sakura the rope to pull open the curtain. Just as she was about to pull the rope…

BAM!

"KURAAAAAA!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!" Li yelled.

Sakura stood there, shocked, scared, and kind of… curious. What could be behind this curtain to make Syao-kun react so strongly? So she started to pull on the rope, and the curtain started to open.

That is, before Li tackled her and tickled her mercilessly.

"LI-KUN!! GAHAHAHAAA!! St-STOP!! I can't breathe!! Ahahahahahaaa!!!" she squealed as she held tight to the rope.

"You can't open that curtain, Kura-chan!!" he said pleadingly.

"Heeeeeeheee… And why not!?" she said, still laughing.

"Because… because… just don't, okay?"

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!!! OPEN IT, OPEN IT!!!" the sisters chorused.

"STOPPIT, YOU SHE-DEVILS!!! NOOOO!!!" he yelled as he lost grip of Sakura, and the curtain peeled open.

Sakura was graced with possibly the funniest, cutest, and most ridiculous collection of photos ever.

All of Syao-kun.

There were dozens of pictures of Syaoran in dresses, skirts, and high heels, with blush painting his cheeks. There were pictures of Syaoran that were snapped as he was tripping down the stairs, when he found the flour in the kitchen (the only things that had color in the photo were his eyes, the rest was pure white), a smiling Syaoran missing four of his front teeth, and quite a few other noteworthy scenes.

Sakura was rolling on the floor and turning red and purple with laughter along with the sisters, while Syaoran simply stood there blushing and denying any questions Sakura posed.

She then turned to a photo that was slightly larger than all of the others.

A rather recent looking picture of Syaoran sleeping high up in a sakura tree, his face calm and peaceful, while blossoms fell, and he grasped onto a sakura blossom.

It absolutely took her breath away.

The four scheming "she-devils" took this as their cue to leave, and quietly scurried out of the room.

As Syaoran saw the picture she was gazing at, he smirked and locked his arms around her thin waist, earning a small gasp, before dipping his head to her ear.

"…Do you know who I was thinking of as I sat there…?" he said softly, sending shivers up Sakura's spine.

Sakura simply stood there, entranced and enraptured with the feel of Syaoran holding her, and the beauty of the photo.

"…N…N…No… Who?" she managed to stutter.

"…You." he said, letting out a small breath, making Sakura shudder.

Sakura simply stood there, immersing herself in the moment, and blushing like crazy. The two stood there for a while, staring at the photo, before Sakura turned around, and kissed him softly.

"Li Xiaolang…"

He looked at her curiously, before hearing the most beautiful thing in the world pass through her lips.

"Li Xiaolang…Wo ai ni…" she said softly, before stealing another kiss from the stunned young man.

Syaoran broke the kiss softly and looked at her carefully.

"Where… Did you learn that by yourself?" he asked breathlessly.

Sakura smiled, proud that such a thing could bring such emotion from him.

"Yes, I did… Did you like it?" she asked, blushing.

"You went and learned how to say 'I love you' in my native tongue, and you ask if I liked it!? Gods, how did I survive without you for four long years!" he said as he hugged her and stroked her back.

Sakura simply smiled, and gave him a little nudge, before unwrapping herself from his arms, looking at the pictures one more time, and…

Laughing so hard her stomach hurt for the next few days.

Li could do nothing but watch as he was severely humiliated by the woman he loved.

"BWAHAHAHAAAA!! YOU'RE WEARING A FRILLIER DRESS THAN MINE!! AND YOU HAVE BLUSH ON YOUR EYES!!! AND YOU'RE WEARING HAIR EXTENSIONS!!!"

Li grumbled, before smirking and running out of the room, and returning with a camera.

Sakura was still on the floor rolling and laughing, her hair totally disheveled, tears and mascara running down her bright red face, and her clothes rumpled and scrunched up. She looked up with wide eyes to Li holding a camera to her.

KLIK, KLIK, KLIK

"Bwa… You did… not just do that!!" she yelled.

Li simply waved the camera around and whistled.

"I don't know… I thought that picture was preeetty priceless, if you ask me… I mean, I bet Fujitaka and Tomoyo would absolutely LOVE it, don't you? And I think there was a little something hanging from your noooooose…" he said innocently.

Sakura blushed and hurriedly wiped her nose, and smiled angelically, before letting loose a yell that sent Li running like a baby.

"LI XIAOLAAAAAAAAANG!!! YOU WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!!! I STILL HAVE MY CARDS!!! SHADOW, WINDY, RELEASE!!!"

"HOOOOOOOLLLLYYYYYY SHIIIIIIIIIIIITTTT!!!!" he yelled as he raced through the manor. "GAH!!! SAKURA, IT WAS JUST AN INNOCENT PRANK!!"

Sakura was running after Li full speed, with Shadow and Windy just tailing Li.

"If my BROTHER somehow gets that photo, I'M DOOMED, LI!!!!"

At this, Li simply smiled before throwing the camera quickly into his room as he ran by. After all, they were after HIM, and not the camera, right?

As was predicted, the camera was abandoned…

"FRICK!!!"

Before Li was lifted off his feet and trapped inside a dark whirlwind, and all sight was lost.

"S-Sakura… You do know it was just a trick, right? I, I mean, hey, you looked so cute… And I don't have any embarrassing photos of you, so give me a break, I want funny pictures of my _wife!_" he pleaded.

Sakura simply laughed.

"Oh, so it was a prank, was it? Well, I got a little prank of my own… Shadow, Windy, return to the cards!!" she yelled.

When Li was released, he found himself 20 feet above his saltwater pool.

"SAKU-"

SPLAAASH!!

And she spent the rest of the day laughing and watching Li sulk over being beaten once more. Little did she know, that three photos were making their way via Internet to Fujitaka.

And the sisters simply looked at each other and smiled as the couple spent the rest of the day unwinding.

"He's got a special one there, ne?" they all said in unison.

"I do believe so…" a smooth female voice said.

A long, slim shadow was cast into the room as Yelan Li made her way to the window and watched the couple.

"I simply hope she is up to the task of being a Li wife…" she said sympathetically.

---------------------------------------------------OwArI------------------------------------------------

SO SORRY THIS IS SO LATE!!!

GOMENNASAI!!!

I've finally gotten all of my registration in order, and the investigation is coming to a close, so I should be getting back to writing!!!

SORRY AGAIN!

And it's short… Sorry!! XP

REVIEW PLEASE!! It makes me wanna write more!

Machiko-Chan


	11. Power of the Li Clan

Disclaimer: I don't own Cardcaptors. If I did, the show would've sucked.

_(Recap)_

"_LI XIAOLAAAAAAAAANG!!! YOU WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!!! I STILL HAVE MY CARDS!!! SHADOW, WINDY, RELEASE!!!"_

"_HOOOOOOOLLLLYYYYYY SHIIIIIIIIIIIITTTT!!!!" he yelled as he raced through the manor. "GAH!!! SAKURA, IT WAS JUST AN INNOCENT PRANK!!"_

_Sakura was running after Li full speed, with Shadow and Windy just tailing Li._

"_If my BROTHER somehow gets that photo, I'M DOOMED, LI!!!!"_

_At this, Li simply smiled before throwing the camera quickly into his room as he ran by. After all, they were after HIM, and not the camera, right?_

_As was predicted, the camera was abandoned…_

"_FRICK!!!"_

_Before Li was lifted off his feet and trapped inside a dark whirlwind, and all sight was lost._

"_S-Sakura… You do know it was just a trick, right? I, I mean, hey, you looked so cute… And I don't have any embarrassing photos of you, so give me a break, I want funny pictures of my __wife!__" he pleaded._

_Sakura simply laughed._

"_Oh, so it was a prank, was it? Well, I got a little prank of my own… Shadow, Windy, return to the cards!!" she yelled._

_When Li was released, he found himself 20 feet above his saltwater pool._

"_SAKU-"_

_SPLAAASH!!_

_And she spent the rest of the day laughing and watching Li sulk over being beaten once more. Little did she know, that three photos were making their way via Internet to Fujitaka._

_And the sisters simply looked at each other and smiled as the couple spent the rest of the day unwinding._

"_He's got a special one there, ne?" they all said in unison._

"_I do believe so…" a smooth female voice said._

_A long, slim shadow was cast into the room as Yelan Li made her way to the window and watched the couple._

"_I simply hope she is up to the task of being a Li wife…" she said sympathetically._

_(End Recap)_

_-----------------------------_Chapter 11

It was now the evening of Sakura's first night in Hong Kong, and butterflies were violently flying around in her stomach. Her day with Syaoran had been nothing short of…

…Magical.

Granted, she was rather annoyed at the fact that Syaoran had attempted to send photos of her looking ridiculous to her father (a.n. Ha, if only it was an ATTEMPT…XD), but he had also been sweet… and kind… and…

Absolutely. Drop. Dead. Gorgeous.

And when he came out of the pool, she nearly fainted. His shirt clung to his body, outlining his lean, muscular figure. He shook out his messy chestnut hair, and ran his fingers through it, all the while looking at Sakura with a look that made her blush heatedly.

God, did he know what he was doing to her?

'KAMI-SAMA!! Perhaps dropping him into the pool wasn't such a great idea…' she though nervously, blushing and quickly averting her eyes.

Syaoran slowly stalked over to her, sulking and wet, and was about to hug her when something occurred to him.

It was…extremely quiet.

'Too quiet…' he thought nervously.

And he had a good reason to be worried.

He looked up to the 3rd floor windows and was greeted with 4 smiling faces. He proceeded to make a face, and was about to flip them off, before realizing there was now one more face…

"Mama…" he breathed out slowly, his eyes widening.

Sakura's eyes widened at this, and she whipped around and looked to the window to see a beautiful woman with dark hair and mysterious eyes looking down upon them, an unreadable expression upon her face before a knowing smile graced her lips.

'So… this is Yelan Li… Syaoran's mother…'

No sooner had Sakura looked up that the figure of Yelan Li disappeared, only to materialize in front of Sakura in a swirl of silvery blue.

No doubt, more of the extraordinary Li power that ran through Syaoran's veins.

Yelan was extremely pleased. The girl had not even flinched at her strange appearance… Perhaps she was well-suited for her son after all.

"Hello, Sakura Kinomoto-chan. I have been expecting you for quite some time."

Sakura stood there, not allowing the shock of what Yelan just said register on her face.

'Why was she expecting me?'

"Oh, you'll have to excuse me! 'Little Wolf' simply went on and on about you after his return to Hong Kong. We were quite impressed. We heard that you have quite a grasp on… the arts?" Yelan questioned.

At this question, Sakura's eyes widened as she glanced at Syaoran quickly, an unreadable expression in his amber eyes, before turning back to Yelan and nodding slowly.

"…H-hai, Yelan-san, I do have a grasp of the… arts. Is there a reason I should?"

Yelan looked at her, and her eyes darkened.

"Sakura… You will need to face off against the Li women to gain entry to our family. You will start with whomever you choose, and your first trial will be later tonight, at 6:00."

Sakura simply stood there, dumbstruck. She was supposed to face off against the legendary magical powers of the Li women? Just because she was deathly in love with Syaoran Li?

"Sakura…"

Sakura snapped her head to Yelan, who simply looked at her with soft eyes, before speaking just above a whisper.

"…If you choose not to undertake these tests… be aware that we cannot allow you into our family. I wish it could be some other way, but it's not possible with the magical laws binding our clan… Will you do it?"

Sakura looked to Yelan, then behind her, where she noticed the four, no-longer-smiling faces of the Li daughters, the power of their magic swirling behind their eyes. The power of water, in all of its destructive power, lay behind Fanren's sapphire blue eyes; earth's crushing blows, behind the deep brown eyes of Feimei; fire's caustic flame, that burned in Shiefa's bright red eyes; and the stunning light blue, almost white eyes of Fuutie, hinting at control of things that can't be seen. She then looked to Syaoran, his amber eyes swirling wildly with the untamed power of thunder and lightning.

"Syaoran… I love you." Sakura turned to Yelan and nodded decisively.

"Yes, Yelan. I will fight the Li women for my place as Syaoran's bride."

Yelan's eyes brightened at this, but no emotion was betrayed on her wise face.

"Very well, Sakura, Mistress of the Clow… Who do you choose as your first adversary?"

Sakura looked carefully at the girls in front of her, and breathed deeply…

'_Fire…'_

Sakura snapped her eyes open quickly, shocked at the voice that had just reverberated through her mind.

'Was that… Clow Reed?'

Sakura looked to Yelan, no fear in her eyes, beforeclearing her throat, and stating her choice.

"I choose to fight… Shiefa, master of the flame."

-----------------------------------OwArI-------------------------------------

Well… I have no excuse this time. I was just… lazy, and I need to be kicked in the pants, so feel free to do so at any time.

I'm sorry… AND it's short…

If it's any help… I love you all. I really do!!!

Please review, and motivate me to move forward with my stories. I forget that I have stories sometimes unless I get reviews sent to my e-mail… XP

Gomennasai, minna-san…

Machiko-Chan


	12. Fight: Start

Disclaimer: I don't own Cardcaptors

Disclaimer: Cardcaptors. Own. NO.

_(Recap)_

"…_If you choose not to undertake these tests… be aware that we cannot allow you into our family. I wish it could be some other way, but it's not possible with the magical laws binding our clan… Will you do it?"_

_Sakura looked to Yelan, then behind her, where she noticed the four, no-longer-smiling faces of the Li daughters, the power of their magic swirling behind their eyes. The power of water, in all of its destructive power, lay behind Fanren's sapphire blue eyes; earth's crushing blows, behind the deep brown eyes of Feimei; fire's caustic flame, that burned in Shiefa's bright red eyes; and the stunning light blue, almost white eyes of Fuutie, hinting at control of things that can't be seen. She then looked to Syaoran, his amber eyes swirling wildly with the untamed power of thunder and lightning._

"_Syaoran… I love you." Sakura turned to Yelan and nodded decisively._

"_Yes, Yelan. I will fight the Li women for my place as Syaoran's bride."_

_Yelan's eyes brightened at this, but no emotion was betrayed on her wise face._

"_Very well, Sakura, Mistress of the Clow… Who do you choose as your first adversary?"_

_Sakura looked carefully at the girls in front of her, and breathed deeply…_

'_Fire…'_

_Sakura snapped her eyes open quickly, shocked at the voice that had just reverberated through her mind._

'_Was that… Clow Reed?'_

_Sakura looked to Yelan, no fear in her eyes, before clearing her throat, and stating her choice._

"_I choose to fight… Shiefa, master of the flame." _

_(End Recap)_

'--Chapter 12--'

Sakura Kinomoto

Her heart was thrashing about madly in her chest. The fact that she had to face the most powerful sorceresses in the world had finally sunk in, and panic had started to wreak havoc on Sakura's system.

It was strange, but she was also excited… the magic in her blood was screaming for her to let loose and fight. And fight she would.

Tonight at 6:00 pm.

She looked to the antiquated grandfather clock by her bedroom doorway, and sighed. Three hours and 27 minutes to the fight against possibly the strongest fire master, male or female, that she had ever faced.

As Sakura lay back on her bed, she had to wonder…

Did Syaoran know about this? Is this why he insisted she take the Sakura cards with her?

And was that really Clow Reed's voice that told her to fight against the fire? Against Shiefa?

It was strange really. She could remember the moment the voice told her to pick the fire wielder, and she was stunned by the clarity with which she could remember the deep fatherly voice, and the instant of comfort it gave her.

She sighed and looked to the crystal chandelier hanging above her.

'Why didn't he tell me…?'

--Xiaolang Li--

In his own room down the grand hall of the Li Manor, Syaoran also lay on his bed, contemplating his actions of the day, and the fight that would later ensue between his beloved, and his sister.

And he hated it.

He knew the laws that surrounded his clan, and he had known from the start that Sakura would have to fight to be his wife. The fact that it would become reality tonight scared him to death.

It wasn't that he didn't think Sakura could handle herself. Hell, she could kick his ass if need be. But what worried him was her sensitivity. He wasn't sure if she would be able to fight all-out against his sisters, and if that was the case, Sakura could get hurt. Being that Syaoran was the youngest of the Li family, his magic was stronger only than the youngest daughter of the family. He knew that in the Li clan, age brought more power to a wielder's magic, and his being the only male child would augment his power. However, Sakura didn't know this.

And the fact that she decided to start with a fire-wielder who was little less than equal to his power worried him. If Sakura couldn't go all-out against his sisters…

Something serious could happen.

And unfortunately, it seemed as though Sakura had the misconception that she would only have to face four opponents. There were in fact five.

And the fifth opponent could very well take her life if she was not careful and precise.

Li Manor

The manor was bustling with activity as the servants prepared for the match. Things were being fire-proofed (Shiefa was a little wild with her shots when she got hot-headed), and incantations to set barriers were being recited. White-hot glows of magic were present all over the manor.

It was now 5:30 pm.

Sakura was making her way to Syaoran's room in her combat outfit, a sleek silver and white bodysuit that moved with her body, with a small pocket on her thigh to allow easy access to her cards, and a small short-sleeved jacket. It was her favorite outfit from Tomoyo (who absolutely died on the spot when Sakura told her that), and she was confident.

She _would_ defeat the fire master. She would be Syaoran's wife.

(AN. Like she'd let anyone else marry him. Please. XD)

She opened the door after knocking three times and receiving a grunt in response, and looked to see a weary-looking Syaoran sitting on the edge of his bed, head in hands.

"…Syaoran-kun. Look at me."

Syaoran slowly lifted his head and looked at her, and Sakura gasped. He looked as if he had been crying, but the look of shock on his face as he saw what she was wearing had distracted for a moment as she blushed and looked away.

"Hey, 'Kura. You look… good." He smiled genuinely and got up to hug her.

"Be careful… Kami, please be careful, Sakura."

Sakura smiled at his tenderness and returned the hug gently, before looking him in the eyes and kissing him.

"It's okay. I can take care of myself. You know that. It takes a lot more to kick my ass than a little heat!" she said as she smirked.

Syaoran smiled at her before his face became more serious, and he brushed some stray hair from her cheek.

"Sakura… You can't hold anything back against any of them. With Li blood, with age comes power. They are all on equal or higher magical standings than I am. You _must_ fight with everything you've got, or you'll get… hurt. Do you understand?"

Sakura was silent. She _had_ planned on going easy on the women, but the way Syaoran had just told her… complicated matters. She did not wish to hurt them, but… could she afford not to? While Sakura's last battle had been against someone with monumental magical powers, she truly couldn't sense the power the Li women possessed. Which meant they were powerful enough to mask it with very little effort.

Sakura steeled herself and kissed Syaoran on the cheek slowly.

"Hai, wakarimasu. Aishiteru… Wasuremasen."

Syaoran hugged her one last time before looking to the clock, and gently pushing her to the door. It was 5:51 pm.

"Hai… Aishiteru yo… Ki o tsukete kudasai… my cherry blossom."

Sakura looked back to her fiancé and smiled.

"Always the worry-wart, Li-kun… Don't worry. I'll be careful. Like always."

"Yeah… I know you will."

+At 6:oo pm+

As told, Sakura was at the entrance to the garden at 6:00 pm sharp.

And she was shocked out of her mind.

The garden had been transformed into a stone arena, completely enclosed by shimmering magical barrier. To the right of the arena were enclosed chambers, where Sakura assumed spectators would observe the match. And standing at the arena's center was Yelan Li, looking as regal as ever.

"Sakura… thank you for being punctual… Unfortunately, Shiefa is not quite so pun-"

"Excuse me, mother? I am always punctual! My clock says 6:00 now."

Shiefa was now walking towards the two confidently, wearing bright red and gold ceremonial robes with various satchels attached to her hip. Something about those little golden bags told her to be careful…

"Well Shiefa, we do not go by _your_ personal clock… we go by the clocks that are scattered throughout the estate that are magically synchronized…" Yelan stated with a bit of playful annoyance.

Shiefa grumbled and faced Sakura before sticking out a hand to shake.

"Clean fight?"

Sakura smiled and gratefully shook her hand.

"Of course. Minimal item usage, lotsa magic, am I right?"

"Of course. You catch on fast, sister."

"I try."

At this point, Yelan coughed loudly and stepped between the two.

"Alright, ladies. Let us begin the match. Three items from each party can be used. Other than that, no items are allowed. Martial arts and magic only. Understood?" Yelan said firmly with a glance at each of them.

"Understood."

"All right… Syaoran… it is your duty to begin the match."

At this, Sakura whirled around to see Syaoran in a striking green, silver and black ceremonial robe, his sword hanging from his side, making him look like royalty. It was now that Sakura truly realized that she had found her Prince Charming.

As he walked forward, he let his gaze drift to Sakura. She was seemingly quite calm. Smiling, even.

'Hn… Good. She should be fine.'

He slowly drew his sword and impaled the center of the arena.

"Sakura Kinomoto… are you ready to begin the match?" he asked, his voice wavering with worry and anxiousness.

Sakura smiled and looked ahead at Shiefa, her emerald-green eyes blazing and answered confidently.

"Yes."

Syaoran nodded and looked to Shiefa.

"Li Shiefa. Are you ready to begin the match?"

"Yes."

Syaoran took a deep breath, and summoned thunder under his breath, lighting his sword with energy.

"BEGIN!!"

--OwArI--

Aishiteru…Wasuremasen – I love you… Don't forget.

Ki o tsukete kudasai – Please be careful.

…………

And all of you are poised at the ready with pitchforks, am I correct?

YOOOW!! ITAI!!

…I guess that's a yes.

I am so sorry, guys. My schoolwork has been absolutely psychotic. My AP and Honors classes are catching up to me… XP

I will be trying to churn out the chapters of all of my stories, though, so please try to be patient. Finals are starting up, and AP exams are coming!

Review!!

Machiko-Chan


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